Sumner, and the county around it

I work from an office on Fryar Avenue in Sumner, in the valley where the White River meets the Puyallup. On a clear day you can see the mountain from most of the valley. Sumner is a practical base for a practice that covers Pierce County: Tacoma is to the west, the plateau is straight up the hill, Orting and Graham are to the south, and the Kent Valley is a short run up SR 167.

I help people buy and sell homes here. A first purchase asks different things of me than a move on military orders to a county you have never driven. The first job is working out what you need.

I hold a managing broker license, the higher of Washington’s two broker license levels, and I work with LPT Realty. I am also part of Homexa®, a network of more than 300 agents across 25 states. That matters in a practical way. When a client is leaving Pierce County for another state, or someone is moving here from far away, I can introduce them to an agent in the network at the other end.

How I work

I say what I think about a house, including the parts you were hoping I would skip. If a price is too high, I will say so and show you the sales that tell me why.

A transaction runs on dates: inspection deadlines, financing deadlines, the appraisal, the closing. I track them and tell you what is coming before it arrives, so you are not left wondering where things stand.

I pay attention to what kind of property you actually have. A farmhouse on acreage in Graham and a new build in Bonney Lake are different sales, with different buyers and different comparables. Each one gets priced against its own kind and marketed to the buyers who want that kind.

A move usually lands in the middle of everything else in your life. My part is keeping the paperwork and the dates in order so you can deal with the rest.

Why Pierce County

Saltwater and old fishing towns lie along one side of this county. On the other, the foothills climb toward the mountain, with farms and river valleys in between. Lot sizes and commutes change a great deal from one town to the next, and sometimes from one side of a highway to the other.

I like the specifics. How the evening light falls on a west-facing lot in University Place. Which Bonney Lake streets send kids to White River schools. How long the drive from Graham to the Sounder station in Puyallup really takes at 6:30 in the morning. You will not find any of it in a listing description, and you will notice all of it a year after you move in.

Working with me

The first conversation is a phone call. We talk about what you want to do and when, and I tell you what I would do in your place. If it makes sense to keep going, we meet: at the house if you are selling, or in Sumner or on a video call if you are buying. Nothing gets decided on that first call.

Expect questions from me. Where you work and how often you go in. What would make you glad, two years from now, that you moved. If you are selling, where you are headed next and how much time you need to get there. The answers shape every recommendation I make after that, from the neighborhoods I suggest to the list price I put in front of you.

You can reach me at 206.940.0942 or Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com. A two-line email is enough to start.

Austin HellicksonManaging Broker · LPT Realty · Sumner