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From KCM Blog:

There is more and more research coming out showing that it makes great financial sense to purchase a home today . Whether it be rent vs. buy ratios, income-to-price ratios or income-to-mortgage payment ratios, purchasing a home right now is a bargain compared to historic norms. Now we want to look at the COST of a home today compared to pre-peak prices.

According to the most recent S&P Case Shiller price index, residential real estate values have returned to 2003 1Q PRICEs. That, in itself, says something. However, when you factor in mortgage rates, the case for buying a home today becomes even more compelling.

In 2003, 30 year mortgage rates stood at 5.88%. Today, they are 4%. How does that impact the actual COST of a home? On a home purchased for $250,000, here is the difference in monthly cost:


That means you save $285.30 a month, $3,423.60 a year and $2,708 over the life of a 30 year mortgage! You buy the home for the same PRICE but the COST is less.

Bottom Line

A few years back Viking was looking to expand its operations. We looked at going to Boise, Moses Lake, or Montana to start building homes and expanding our market place. However, we turned all these down and chose to start up in the Tri-Cities area because of the strong employment, the lack of home inventory, and for a handful of other strategic reasons. Since we came down, we sold our first home in May of 2009 and have sold over 80 homes since.

We have transformed our company name into Viking Builders, LLC and are now based out of Kennewick, WA. Wendell’s son, Ryan Olson is now living in Kennewick heading up Viking Builders. Ryan has been working with his father his entire life through almost every job title in the construction industry.

“I have seen much, accomplished much, learned much and grown much through the teachings of my father and through the lessons of an up and down real estate cycle. I have now become a part owner of the new Viking Builders, LLC along with the backing of a valuable asset of Wendell Olson as the other partner. I have moved to Kennewick and we are now a local contractor looking for another 30 years of success. Together, Wendell and I are going to continue to strive forward and produce a valuable product with an outstanding service throughout a quality building and business practice.” – Ryan Olson

Through the hard work, dedication, and passion for building, Viking Builders will work in the same unique structure as Viking Construction and offer Semi-Custom homes.

Viking Construction, Inc. is an Idaho Corporation that was started in 1980 by Wendell Olson. Wendell has succeeded in taking a very hands on approach with passion to ever home that he has built. He started this business with the mind set of customer satisfaction being the main goal. Over the years, Viking has created the reputation of being a loyal, up front, and a trustworthy company. Viking has built over 3000 homes in the Inland Empire which consists of the Spokane, WA and Coeur d’ Alene, ID areas. In 2005 we built close to 450 homes, but for the past few years we have remained the largest builder in this market place with building above and around 200 homes per year.

As the largest builder, we understand the importance of the satisfaction of our customers. Our biggest goal is to have our current customers either refer their friends and family or to move up and buy another Viking Home. Our niche market is catering to the first time buyers and/or the move up buyers. We do build on private land and have also built a 66 unit apartment complex that we own and operate ourselves.

Wendell and Viking have seen it through the bad times and the good times. We have stood strong through the high interest rates of the 80’s, the up and down swing in the early 90’s, and the boom and fall of the mid 2000’s. Through all of this we keep a very personal and hands on approach to our business. We have a passion for building great homes and meeting and/or exceeding the high expectations put forth by our customers.