Sunday, September 10, 2006
Kitsap Real Estate Market Activity
The Kitsap County Real Estate Market continues to weaken - inventory has increased to its highest level this year and sales are off about 10% compared to the same time a year ago.
Residential Highlights...
Kitsap County’s residential inventory in August (1819 active listings) was up 6% from July. The August inventory was 58% higher than a year ago, up from 48% higher last month. Even the exception in Kitsap County’s rising inventory, Bainbridge Island, has a rising inventory with a 20% increase (it was up only 7% last month). The number of YTD pending sales in August was down 12% compared to a year ago - compared to down 10% last month. Note that Bainbridge Island pending sales YTD are down 21% from a year ago. The number of YTD closed sales is down by 8% compared to a year ago - same as last month. Bainbridge Island closed sales YTD are down 22% from a year ago. Inventory is up substantially while actual sales are behind last year’s numbers. If you look just at last month’s closed sales, they are down 11% compared to a year ago, and on Bainbridge Island last month’s sales were up 7.5% - compared to being down 45% last month. Not sure what to make of this last figure.
Appreciation Continues...
Average sales prices continue to appreciate. The median sales price of $274,000 countywide was up 12% from a year ago, (11% last month). We expect appreciation to level off in the coming months, but since January the median sales price has risen 6.6%.
Seller Expectations…
The median list price has risen 7.6% since January, so you can see that the sellers and agents have expected prices to rise faster than actual results (closed sales have risen 6.6%). The inventory turnover of homes on the market, as calculated by total number of homes on the market divided by number sold last month, is 4.5 months. A year ago this number was 2.5 months. Based on this a seller’s home has a 22% chance of selling in any given month now versus a 40% chance a year ago. Competitive pricing is much more of a factor now than last year.
Statistics not compiled or published by NWMLS
