Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Prowse & Company Waterfront Update - November 2006
Download the November Waterfront Update
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Now is the Best Time for Kitsap Home Buyers to Negotiate!
A Positive Outlook For Buyers in Kitsap County’s Current Housing Market.
By: Jim Valentine, Buyer Specialist with Prowse & Company
As I sit down to write this I'm amazed and almost stunned by how quickly our local market has changed. Yes, it's interesting to read and hear about what's happening with real estate on a national basis from sources like CNN, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, The NBC Nightly News, etc., but that doesn't really concern my clients or me because they generally look at the country as a whole. Personally, I like to know what's happening in my backyard and feel as though I should pass this information on to people interested in buying a home in Kitsap County. From the eyes of an agent that specializes in working only for Buyers, here's how I see what's happening locally as of 11/14/06, a mid-month sales report.
As I get to work every day, part of my morning ritual is to sit down and look at something called a 'Hotsheet." This is a report that I preview on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) web site every day. It's the site where agents can do everything from input a new listing to print a Purchase and Sale Agreement. The Hotsheet tells me everything about what's changed in the NWMLS since I last checked, usually 24 hours or less but it will store data up to 3 days. What I'm NOT seeing on my Hotsheet is astonishing and is the reason for this Blog. In the month of November, homes are simply not selling in Kitsap County, and this is great news for buyers!
The NWMLS divides Kitsap County into 19 areas; below are the number of residential homes that have had accepted offers placed on them since the first of the month – 11/1/06. This is also known as Subject To Inspection or STI. You'll notice I'm not saying "Sold," that term is reserved for when escrow is actually closed. STI is the best gauge for telling us when both a buyer and a seller have agreed upon an offer.
| Area | Homes STI Since 11/1/06 | Number of Active Listings |
|---|---|---|
| S. Kitsap W. of HWY 3 | 2 | 163 |
| S. Kitsap E. of HWY 3 | 3 | 110 |
| Port Orchard | 9 | 167 |
| Retsil/Manchester | 4 | 86 |
| Seabeck/Holly | 3 | 75 |
| Chico | 2 | 24 |
| Silverdale | 4 | 92 |
| West Bremerton | 15 | 157 |
| East Bremerton | 5 | 89 |
| East Central Kitsap | 7 | 100 |
| Hansville | 4 | 33 |
| Kingston | 7 | 68 |
| Port Gamble | 2 | 15 |
| Lofall | 1 | 26 |
| Finn Hill | 10 | 48 |
| Poulsbo | 4 | 88 |
| Suquamish | 5 | 37 |
| Indianola | 0 | 29 |
| Bainbridge Island | 6 | 179 |
| Total | 93 | 1586 |
With a mid-month active listings number at 1586, this puts Kitsap County at approximately the same inventory level as in the year 2000. For the last 10 years inventory has been on a slow but steady reduction, until now. In 1997 we saw the inventory at 2388, the highest number in the last 10 years.
So we are at a 6-year high in inventory, only 93 homes countywide have had offers accepted on them so far this month and interest rates continue to be fantastic. Current rates on a 30-year are still hovering in the low 6% range and 15-year is in the high 5% range, see more here - http://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/rates. What does this mean for the buyer? Price negotiations are in your favor.
Let's take a look at Bainbridge Island briefly. Currently there are 179 homes for sale and only 6 this month have gone STI. This huge discrepancy in numbers is keeping sellers wondering, waiting, wishing, and hoping for something to come across their desk so they can start negotiations. Sellers are jockeying hard to be the best home for sale in their price range and are willing do what ever they can to get a buyer to make an offer. So could now be the perfect time to really negotiate hard on a price and inspection items? Bainbridge is just an extreme example; without question, price negotiations are possible Countywide right now.
I'll be honest with everyone reading this; I'm stumped as to why all of a sudden there is a huge amount of inventory and buyers are not buying. Yes, this time of year slows down a touch due to the holidays, but only 93 of 1586 homes have had accepted offers so far this month. Are buyers not buying because there is too much inventory? Are asking prices reaching a ceiling? Did sellers trying to hold out and time the market perfectly just flood it? Which in turn showed buyers that by waiting something better for less money will come along? If you look at the current local market from the buyers' perspective, now may well be the very best time in a long, long time to buy a home in Kitsap County.
*ATTENTION BUYERS* - Sellers and their agents are literally begging for offers. I have a strong feeling that the old adage "the early bird gets the worm" will be true for buyers acting from now until just after the first of the year. Call me if you're serious about buying, I'll negotiate the price you want to pay.
Jim Valentine
Buyer Specialist, Prowse & Company
360-265-3176
888-842-0117 ext 104
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Kitsap County Trends Report
If you are new to Kitsap County or if you just want to learn more about the County, one of the best sources you can find is the semiannual Kitsap County Trends Report published by the Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority.
It contains a wealth of information about community development, residential and commercial real estate (though you’ll see that the latest report is pretty outdated with respect to residential real estate trends), rental markets, wage scales, demographics, education, etc. It shows al the major employers and employment by job category. There are detailed sections outlining recent development activity in Bremerton and on Bainbridge Island, as well as separate sections on Transportation and the Navy in Kitsap County. There are links to nearly every community and government organization in Kitsap County. The report also relates activity in Kitsap County to the Seattle area and to the rest of Washington (WA).
Hope this inspires you to check out the Trends Report at http://www.kccha.com/Trends.html. A new update should be coming out soon.
Statistics not compiled or published by NWMLS
