Home Sales on Bainbridge Island for March 2012 including 18 Months of Sales & Price Data

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Graph of Home Sales and Prices on Bainbridge Island including 18 months of data

Graph of Home Sales and Prices on Bainbridge Island including 18 months of data

Here’s a link to all of the other posts relating to Bainbridge Island Real Estate and Home Sales Data

Wow!  Home sales and prices on Bainbridge Island for March 2012 were nothing short of Wow!  I had to look at the data a couple times just to make sure of what I was seeing.  The number of homes Sold were right in the middle of the average range, but the Average Selling prices were nothing short of stunning.  Over 25% of the homes sold in March were over $1 Million!  making it one of the strongest months for the sales of high-end luxury homes we’ve seen on the island for as far back as my data goes.  Was this an anomaly?  To an extent it was and I don’t expect we will see a repeat of that many $1 Million+ homes being Sold in April, however; reviewing the number of homes that have gone “Sale Pending” in the last 30 days (over 65), the number of homes selling is making a very strong jump which indicates a broadening strength in the general real estate and resale home market on Bainbridge Island.  This is really great news for the entire North Kitsap Real Estate Market, because historically, as Bainbridge goes, so goes the rest of North Kitsap in the subsequent 3-6 month time period.  Come back next month to see if the excitement continues.

If you’d like to search all the homes listed in the NWMLS, including Foreclosures, please visit our new website

Thank You for visiting our blog.  We welcome your feedback or questions, so let us know if there is anything we can do for you

–Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate
19723 10th Ave NE; suite 200
Poulsbo, WA 98370

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Salt Water Front Home Sales, Prices & Trends in Kitsap County August 2010 through February 2012

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Brian Wilson

Below is a comprehensive graph showing sales, prices and trends for all of the Salt Water front homes sold in Kitsap County from August 2010 through February 2012.  I am also posting the graph showing distressed properties sold compared to total monthly sales so you can easily compare all of these factors month by month.

Graph of Salt Water front Single Family Home Sales, Prices & Trends Kitsap County

Salt Water front Single Family Home Sales Kitsap

 

Graph of Distressed Salt Water Front Home Sales Compared with Non Distressed

Graph of Distressed Salt Water Front Home Sales Compared with Non Distressed Aug 2010 through February 2012

Kitsap County is an area blessed with over 230 miles of coastline that’s deeply dissected with many inlets and peninsulas.   The coastline runs roughly along the West side of Puget Sound and around to the East Side of Hood Canal including many communities like Lofall, Seabeck, Stavis Bay and Holly.

Some of the major inlets and bays with fabulous waterfront properties include Liberty Bay, Dyes Inlet, Port Orchard Bay, Washington Narrows, Phinney Bay, Oyster Bay, Ostrich Bay, & Sinclair Inlet.   Of course Bainbridge Island has some of the most fabulous waterfront imaginable with something to please everyone from Easterly sunrise views including views across Puget Sound to downtown Seattle, Southerly views including Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier, and Westerly views  Across Port Orchard Bay including the stunning Olympic Mountains. 

Some of the areas around Bainbridge Island include: Blakely Harbor, Manzanita Bay, Rolling Bay, Manitou Beach, Yeomalt Point, Eagle Harbor, Rich Passage, Blakely Harbor, Pleasant Beach, Pt. White, Fletcher Bay, Manzanita Bay, Port Madison Bay, Pt. Monroe and or course Puget Sound.

The graphs are very interesting and even a bit surprising.   For the period included, they show a relatively consistent demand for these waterfront properties.  We do see some major seasonal cycles:  As you might expect the largest number of waterfront homes are sold between the months of July through October, with the lowest number of sales occurring during the months of December through March.  Interestingly, the maximum selling prices occurred during the lowest sales months so the pricing cycle runs opposite the selling cycle.  Said another way; when there are fewer homes on the market (and fewer homes selling), there are still serious buyers in the market and they pay higher average prices for the select waterfront properties that are available for sale.  It appears to be a classic case of supply and demand.   Buyers have the most choices and get the best deals when there are the most properties on the market, which occurs from early Summer to early Fall, however; the cycle is actually offset by about 45 days to account for the closing times.

Unlike most other real estate market segments, waterfront homes, appear to be minimally impacted by distressed property sales.  Part of this is because in this market segment during the 19 month period discussed, the average monthly percentage of distressed sales compared with total sales is 22%, while the median is 20%.  This is significantly lower than the general market for other categories of home sales, so distressed properties have less impact simply because there are fewer of them.  

Upon closer inspection of the distressed waterfront home sales data, compared with other real estate market segments, we see there is a much higher percentage of the distressed waterfront property sales that were comprised of Short Sales. 

During the 19 month period, over 40% of the distressed properties sold were Short Sales and as I have stated in other posts, Short Sales typically sell for a higher price than Bank Owned Foreclosures, so in the waterfront market, we have a double positive.  There are fewer distressed properties and Short Sales comprise a much larger percentage.  Therefore, the overall impact from distressed property sales is less in the waterfront home market than in all the other market segments I have been tracking.

I will have more to discuss in future posts, so I hope you subscribe to the RSS feed and visit regularly.  We would like to know what you think about our blog and welcome your comments, questions or suggestions.

Thank You for visiting.

–Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate
19723 10th Ave NE; suite 200
Poulsbo, WA 98370

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Suquamish and Indianola Real Estate Sales, Prices & Trends for February 2012 with 18 Months Data

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Graph of Suquamish & Indianola Home Sales & Data w/Trends February 2012

Suquamish & Indianola Home Sales Data & Trends February 2012 w/18 Mo. Data

Here is the Data for March.

The areas of Suquamish and Indianola were grouped together because they are largely located within the original Port Madison Tribal Boundaries, though virtually all of the properties sold are fee simple and owned just like any other real estate in the County.  The major exception to this is the area of Suquamish Shores which is on leased land which the tribe will not renew after about the next 6 years or so.

This is another data set and graph with some interesting results and that is extremely difficult to infer any consistent trends within the last 19 months.  We see periods where there were very few home sales, other times where there were many more home sales but a majority of them were REO Bank Owned Foreclosures.  There are groupings of higher end sales from sales of some of the exquisite waterfront properties in the area, and these sales drove the average prices way up.  Other times there were a particularly large number of REO sales from areas like Miller Bay Estates and Downtown Suquamish which then drove the average selling prices way down.

I believe we will continue to see these kinds of large gyrations until the REO bank Owned inventory is worked out of the system and we get back to having a majority of the sales coming from regular non-distressed homeowners just needing or wanting to move.

Thank You for visiting our blog.  We hope you found it helpful or at least interesting. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let us know, we’d love to hear from you.

–Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate
19723 10th Ave NE; suite 200
Poulsbo, WA 98370

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Port Gamble, Kingston and Hansville Real Estate Sales, Prices and Trends for February 2012 & 18 months of data

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Graph of 19 Months Real Estate data for Port Gamble, Kingston & Hansville

PortGamble Kingston and Hansville Real Estate Trends, Sales and Prices February 2012

Here is the March Data

Welcome to our first monthly report about real estate sales, prices and trends in Port Gamble, Kingston & Hansville.  This graph paints an interesting picture which warrants some discussion about the many factors affecting the real estate market in this area. 

The first, of the factors which creates wide swings in prices, time on market and sales in the area are the diverse property types found here.  Within this area there is everything from the more affordable & higher density developments like Gamblewood, Shorewood and Kingston Meadows;  mid-range neighborhoods like Driftwood Key, Cliffside, & Kingston Highlands; and Higher-end communities like Whitehorse, Presidents Point, Point-No- Point View Estates & areas along Twin Spits Road and Foulweather Bluff. 

There is a lot of coastline in these areas, so relative to other areas in the County, there are a large number of waterfront properties.  Much of the area is Rural so there are also many homes on acreage, equestrian properties, properties combining both acreage and waterfront and fabulous view properties.  Conversely, there are also a substantial number of affordable homes and properties in the area. 

It appears that the regular large cycles in average prices and number of sales was and is  affected by the relative property mix on the market and selling in any given period.  The trend for sales and prices appears to approximately follow a 3 month cycle.  When there are more affordable homes on the market, the number of homes sold increases and generally the average prices decline, however; some months there were large numbers of high-end luxury properties, so in those months there were large swings to the upside in all of the averages.   Another major factor, as in all other areas in the County, when there were higher numbers of distressed properties including REO’s, bank owned foreclosures and short sales sold in any given period, the average prices declined lower than they otherwise would have, as many of these sales were made at a substantial discount to the current market prices at the time.

Thank You for visiting our blog.  We hope you found this information useful or at least interesting.  If you have any thoughts, questions or comments, we would love to hear from you.

-Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate
19723 10th Ave NE; suite 200
Poulsbo, WA 98370

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Real Estate Sales, Prices and Trends for Poulsbo February 2012 & 18 Months of data

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Graph of Home Sales & Prices in Poulsbo Feb 2012

Poulsbo Home Sales & Prices Feb2012 & 18 Mo Prior

Here is the March Data.

This is our first monthly posting which tracks Real Estate sales, prices & trends for residential home sales in Poulsbo.  Poulsbo broadly includes a much larger and irregularly shaped geographic area extending far beyond the actual incorporated city limits.  For our purposes in tracking the logical area real estate sales, we have included NWMLS areas 164-166 and further limited to the zip code 98370.  This area roughly encompasses both sides of the North end of Liberty Bay, Just before Keyport to the South, Hood Canal to the West, Lofall and Hood Canal Bridge to the North, and Miller Bay Rd. to the East.  We  include the communities of Lakeness,Vinland, Woods & Meadows, Breidablik, Edgewater Estates, Big Valley, North Clear Creek, Sherman Hill, Scandia, Pearson Point, Virginia Point, Downtown Poulsbo including Poulsbo Place, Fjelview, Ridgewood, Kevos Pond, Alasund Meadows, Deer Run, Gala Pines, Havn Heights, Meredith Heights, Forest Rock, Poulsbo Gardens, Applewood Estates, Austurbruin, Baywatch, Indian Hills Estates, Lemolo, and the new developments of Chateau Ridge, Snowberry Bungalows, Caldart Heights, Liberty Ridge, & Avondale Glen.

For the purposes of this data, we decided not to include Miller Bay Estates as it is actually in area 168 which is closer to Indianola.

This graph shows the average original asking price, the average listing price at which an offer was received and the average selling price.  The dotted trend line is a 3 month (quarterly) moving average for the average selling price of homes in Poulsbo.

This information provides an indicator of the relative market strength and the relative difference between where Buyers and Sellers are initially valuing the average home.  As the market strengthens and inventory drops, the average selling prices increase and there are also some times where the average selling price exceeds the average listing price or even the average initial asking price.  In these cases, it can be caused by buyers bidding up prices (multiple offer situations) or more typically, if there are a significant number of Short Sale listings on the market, the initial asking prices prices may be much lower than where a lender is willing to accept the sale and buyers are in fact willing to bid the price up above the average initial asking prices.

The lower trend line shows the trending average number of homes sold.

There are some very interesting results showing in this data:

  • The monthly number of homes Sold has been amazingly consistent and in a very tight range between about 18 to 30.
  • The average selling price has also been in a relatively consistent range for about the last 6 months, however; last month (February) saw a decline that was relatively close to the data for February 2011 one year ago.   Other than the very low number of homes sold in January, it appears that the market is relatively stable and is following some sort of normalized sales and pricing data with typical seasonal influences.

If you are interested in the distressed real estate market in Poulsbo, watch for our posting which will have information about the distressed, REO (Bank Owned) and Short Sales data in the Poulsbo area.

Thank You for visting our blog and we hope you found it useful or at least interesting. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know.

–Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate
19723 10th Ave NE; Suite 200
Poulsbo, WA 98370

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Bainbridge Island Real Estate Sales and Prices for February 2012 and including 18 months of historical data

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Bainbridge Island Home Sales and Prices Aug 2010 through February 2012

Bainbridge Island Home Sales and Prices Aug 2010 through February 2012

The number of homes sold on Bainbridge Island for February 2012 was up 86% from the previous month and up 75% from the same period one year earlier, however; the average selling price is a different story.  For February 2012, 25% of the homes Sold on the island were distressed and since there were zero (0) Short Sales, all of the distressed sales were bank owned foreclosures.  

Unlike nearly every other month since tracking the data, the Real Estate market on Bainbridge Island for February 2012 is a tale of two markets.  On one hand we see that over 85% of the foreclosed properties sold on the island were Sold at a price below $400,000.  Since this category comprises nearly 25% of the total sales, it had a significant negative impact on the average home sale price for the month.

On the other hand, there were 4 sales in excess of $1 Million Dollars, (more than we’ve seen for quite some time) but these only accounted for 14% of the homes sold so they were not enough to offset the negative impact of all the low priced foreclosures sold during the month.

The number of sales in the upper mid range ($600K – $900K) only accounted for about 11% of the market, much lower than “normal” in the last couple of years.

I believe this is an anomaly because I have never seen such skewed data since methodically tracking it on the Island for the past couple of years.  Stay tuned next month, I’m betting the average sale price will jump back closer to the trending line for the previous 6 months. 

It is very positive and a vote of confidence for the real estate market on the island, and the economy, to see an increasing number of sales in excess of $1 Million Dollars.

If you’d like to see the February 2012 Real Estate sales data for all of Kitsap County go here

If you’d like to see a comparison of distressed home sales with total home sales in Kitsap County for Fenruary 2012 go here

Thank You for visiting our blog, we hope it has been helpful or at least interesting to you.  If you would like to see different data or information or if you have any comments, please let us know.

–Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate 

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Distressed Home Sales (REO, Foreclosures & Short Sales) compared with total home sales in Kitsap County for February 2012

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Brian Wilson

The number of homes sold in Kitsap County during February 2012 increased 9.8% from the same period one year ago and were up over 20% from the previous month (January 2012) .  The total number of distressed properties (Bank Owned, REO’s, Foreclosures & Short Sales) Sold was up about 38% from the same period one year ago but identical to the number Sold in January.   Of the total number of distressed properties, the number of Short Sales comprising the total declined from the previous month to only 12. 

Graph comparing foreclosed, short sales & total home sales Kitsap County Feb 2012
Graph comparing foreclosed, short sales & total home sales Kitsap County Feb 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our blog post for the Kitsap County Real Estate Data for February 2012 for a more detailed discussion about the effect of decreasing numbers of Short Sales compared to foreclosures being sold…here’s the link:  http://wp.me/p1lMbw-cf   There is a direct correlation between an increase in the number of foreclosures (Bank Owned) sold and a decline in real estate prices.

Thank You for visiting our blog.
We hope you found the information here useful and we welcome your comments or questions.

–Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate

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Home Sales and Prices in Kitsap County for February 2012 and 18 months prior data

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Brian Wilson
{Note: In the event you got to this article from an older link, here is a link to the newest data for this category of monthly home sales in Kitsap County}

February 2012 was an interesting month for real estate in Kitsap County.  Here’s how home sales for February 2012 compared with the same period one year ago:

Kitsap County Home Sales & Prices February 2012 & 18 months prior data

Kitsap County Home Sales & Prices February 2012 & 18 months prior data

# of Homes Sold + 9.8%
Average Home Selling Price – 8.3%
% of Homes Sold that were Distressed + 38%

 

 

 

The significant increase in the number of distressed properties being Sold is the most significant factor in the decrease of the average home selling price in February 2012.  Many of these distressed properties (Bank owned foreclosures & Short Sales) are selling for significantly less than the current market prices at any given time and area.

According to an article which appeared in DSnews on January 25. 2011,  foreclosure homes sold for 34% less than the average price of a non-distressed home during the 3rd quarter of 2011.  In Kitsap County we are also seeing a similar trend, but REO properties (foreclosures) are not being discounted quite as much, however; they are on average being Sold at a discount to current market prices.  So, when we see foreclosed (REO) properties comprising an increasing percentage of the home sales during any given month, the average selling prices tend to decrease.

Interestingly, Short Sales were down significantly for the month so as a percentage of the total distressed properties that were Sold in February, Short Sales only comprised about 18%.  In our business, we have noticed increasing difficulty getting Short Sales approved and we have also noticed less willingness on the part of some lenders to negotiate the selling price or anything with regard to Short Sales.  Therefore there are fewer Short Sales.

The challenges and often excessively long times involved in getting Short Sales approved has finally drawn the attention of congress.  Recently, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Scott Brown (R-MA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) proposed a Bill that would require mortgage lenders to make a prompt decision regarding a short sale.  It will require a written response from the lender no later than 75 days after the receipt of the written request by a Buyer.

If approved, the impact should be positive.  Short Sales sell at closer to market prices than foreclosed properties.  So, in my opinion this will have the effect of stabilizing home resale prices and will significantly reduce the number of Short Sales that flip back onto the market.  Currently, many of the flipped short sales are the direct result of buyers becoming frustrated from waiting ridiculously long periods of time with no response from the lender(s).

Overall, the current Real Estate market in Kitsap County is very active and we believe the current situation with relatively affordable home prices, good inventory of bargain properties, (which sell quickly) and continuing low interest rates; combined with an improving economy make this a great time to be Buying Real Estate. 

We are seeing a lot of activity in all sectors of the real estate market but particularly note the increasing activity from real estate investors.  The other areas that are starting to see increasing activity after a long period of very slow sales are land sales and second homes in rural areas offering coveted amenities like waterfront, view and secluded quality acreage.

Thank You for visiting our blog.
As always, we welcome your comments and hope you find our information useful.

-Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott Real Estate

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Monthly sales of bank owned foreclosures and short sales compared with total home sales in Kitsap County. January 2012 and 18 previous months data

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Distressed_vs_Non_distressed home sales Kitsap County for 19Mo_thru_Jan 2012

Distressed_vs_Non_distressed home sales Kitsap County for 19Mo_thru_Jan 2012

Go Here for February 2012 Data

Distressed home sales in Kitsap County which includes bank owned foreclosures (REO’s) and short sales, jumped to 47% of the total homes Sold during the month of January 2012!  This is the highest percentage of distressed homes sold since I’ve been tracking the data, which is more than two years now, and may be the highest we’ve ever seen in the County.

I believe this is an anomaly and will not be the case for the month of February.  I think the reason for this jump in distressed sales as a percent of total home sales, is that many of these distressed properties were very low priced and represented special opportunities for investors to step in.   Many were purchased for land value, rehab opportunities, or very low cost rental properties and they were finally priced compellingly enough to get them sold. 

It is going to be interesting to watch future developments, but our anecdotal data is indicating many things that will contribute to much different numbers in February including: tightening inventory, fewer low end and more higher quality and higher priced REO’s being listed, increased sales activity across all areas and price points, & more buyers jumping into the market.

We are hearing things from our clients like: “I’m afraid to wait any longer, the interest rates are so low, there is more upside risk than downside opportunity.”  “I’ve been noticing that properties I’ve been watching and like are quickly going “Pending”, “We are tired of waiting to make a move and have been waiting for several years now.  It seems like now is a pretty great time to buy the waterfront real estate we’ve been wanting”

We hope you find this information useful and invite your comments in the comment section below.  Please let us know your thoughts and if there is any other information you’d like us to consider researching and posting.

Thank you for visiting our Blog,
Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott – Poulsbo, WA

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Home sales and average prices for Residential Real Estate in Kitsap County for January 2012 plus 18 months previous data

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Brian Wilson
Graph showing Homes Sales and prices in Kitsap County January 2012 & historical data

Homes Sales and average prices in Kitsap County January 2012 including 19 months data

{Note: In the event you got to this article from an older link, here is a link to the newest data for this category of monthly home sales in Kitsap County}

Homes sales and average home prices decreased in Kitsap County for the month of January 2012.  The biggest factor affecting the lower average selling price compared to previous months was the jump in distressed property sales (Foreclosures and Short Sales) which comprised the largest percentage of  total sales since I have been tracking the data going back beyond two years.  Distressed real estate sales amounted to nearly 47% of all the sales for the month.  These distressed home sales are more typically lower priced properties and are also selling for prices lower than comparable non-distressed properties.

I believe the January data is not particularly trend setting and that the February data will show significant improvement in sales numbers and average prices.  For a few months we have been seeing fewer new listings coming onto the market on a daily basis compared to the number of homes that are going under contact and becoming closed sales.  This imbalance is finally beginning to have an impact in certain areas and price ranges, resulting in many fewer available properties and shorter time on market for homes that have everything right.  This tightening market along with continued historically low interest rates, is being recognized by many buyers as their signal that now is the time to jump in before prices or interest rates rise.

Stay tuned…this is starting to get interesting.

Thank you for visiting our Blog.  We welcome your comments below, so let us know what you think or if there is other information you’d like to see.

Brian Wilson, Broker
John L. Scott – Poulsbo, WA

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