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Uncategorized Gig Harbor home prices down 7%…but still less than county Gig Harbor home prices down 7%...but still less than county When the News Tribune reported last month the average price for a home in Pierce County had fallen 12% from 2008, following a drop of 9% a year earlier, I decided to compare average Gig Harbor home prices with the county's average. Normally the median sales price (half the sales above and half below) is used for comparisons locally, as well as nationally. In January I reported that the median was actually up 1% year-over-year for December but down 4% from two years earlier. Gig Harbor home prices did take a hit when you assess the entire year-dropping 7%-- and an even larger 11% punch from 2007 to 2008. However, even combined, the figures were still better than Pierce County as a whole. The table below compares Gig Harbor zip codes 98332, 98333 and 98335 for closings in December over the last seven years.     Current 1 yr   Current 3 yrs   Current 7 yrs   Dec 09 Dec 08   Dec 09 Dec 06   Dec 09 Dec 02 Average Sold Price $426k $409k   $426k $501k   $426k $310k % Change 4% ▲     15% ▼     37% ▲   The first three quarters of 2008 held up fairly well but, as could be expected, the fourth quarter was the killer. There was a full $100,000 difference in both average and median Gig Harbor home prices, comparing June 2008 to December 2008. This is the reason why December year-over-year is up but 2009 is still down for the entire year Key Peninsula was off its 2008 average by 16% and off 23% for the combined 2008-09 years--following closely the county trend. Sellers need to look realistically at the price range buyers are purchasing today.  The graph below clearly illustrates the "disconnect" between what sellers are asking and buyers are buying.  Buyers are closing on homes, on average, today $250,000 less than the list price-this is 38% less than the average list price. In 2002 the spread was only 25%.  Obviously, this does not mean a specific house sold for 38% less than its list price...simply there is a huge spread between Gig Harbor home prices-listing and selling. These lower average prices are being fueled in part by the "resetting" of real estate values as well as by the huge percentage of first time buyers in today's marketplace, utilizing the tax credit. One possible scenario when the tax credit expires in April is that the number of sales will fall off but the market will neutralize, with less concentration of first-time buyers. Because this particular market segment will drastically be reduced, it could result in an elevation of sales prices-even with fewer buyers.   Gig Harbor Average Sales Price   Carole Holmaas is a licensed Associate Broker, licensed since 1967, at Windermere Real Estate/Gig Harbor. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be followed at http://Blog.ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Key Peninsula home prices are on a roller coaster Key Peninsula home prices are on a roller coaster Key Peninsula home prices are higher one month and lower the next, compared to 2008. While sales prices were lower in December they followed three months of higher prices. Key Peninsula home prices are down 10% from 2008 and 14% from 2007. That compares to Gig Harbor that bumped up 1% over 2008 and the 4-county Puget Sound area that dropped 7% decrease in prices. On the other hand, sales of Key Peninsula homes have been showing a tidy increase, with 33% over 2008 and 29% from 2007 year-over-year. The change from 2008 is on a par with Gig Harbor but sales in Gig Harbor are a whopping 160% better than 2007.  At the same time the 4-county Puget Sound area reported 54.7% more sales than last year so both Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula are some distance behind regional figures for this measure. Realtors have been pleased with the relatively strong market for December and the momentum appears to be continuing with sales activity in January. Much of those sales are being driven by the first-time home buyer tax credits and low interest rates. Interest rates are starting to tick upward and are expected to peak around 6.5% during 2010. Inventory continues to drop-down 33% from last year at this time. This is helping stabilize prices as the home supply dwindles. Key Peninsula is currently experiencing just an 8.8 month supply of homes on the market. For the homebuyer, that means if no new homes were listed, it would take about nine months to sell the current inventory. I would expect the supply to drop even more as January sales activity continues to hum. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate/Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.66 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be followed at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home prices continue to climb out of hole Gig Harbor home prices continue to climb out of hole Gig Harbor home prices are continuing to sustain moderately higher sales prices as 2009 closes out. December is the fifth of the last six months to show improvement year over year. Gig Harbor is defined as the Gig Harbor peninsula and Fox Island. Gig Harbor home prices are up 1% over 2008, comparing the months of December only. The 4-county Puget Sound area however experienced a 7% decrease in sales price. Another plus--sales of Gig Harbor homes have been better than 2008 for the last half year now-in each of those six months.    While December sales improved by 7% over November-which is not the norm-they were up dramatically 41% over 2008 and 160% over 2007. The 4-county Puget Sound area reported 54.7% more sales than last year, but Gig Harbor home prices (median sales price) are substantially higher than the Puget Sound, as a whole. December was a stronger market than Realtors were expecting and there appears to be momentum to keep the market moving. Much of the activity is still being driven by first-time home buyer tax credits as well as favorable interest rates. Unfortunately the substantial volume of foreclosures has driven down prices-a trend likely to persist throughout 2010. The strongest segment in Gig Harbor home prices the past thirty days has been in the $350-450k range, a segment actually entering  the beginning of a seller's market. Inventory continues to drop-last month down 8% from November, but down 19% from December 2008. The 4-county Puget Sound area has experienced a nearly identical decrease in inventory. New homes sales are on the same tract with 11 months of inventory.The table I've supplied for Gig Harbor home prices shows single family homes only. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate/Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be followed at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Gig Harbor waterfront homes sell at 2005 prices Gig Harbor waterfront homes sell at 2005 prices Gig Harbor waterfront homes sold at a much faster clip this past year but median sales prices compare remarkably close to 2005-no where near the 2006-2007 peak. 2009's price for Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor waterfront homes was $683,000. This closely parallels the decline in sales of all homes in the area Sales in 2008 were depressingly slow-only 22-the worst year for sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes for the nearly three decades I've been recording waterfront market statistics. This year's 51 sales are a 128% improvement but it is still the second worse year of the past 15. The ups and downs in median prices for Gig Harbor waterfront homes over the past six years: 2004        488,000 2005        680,000           40%▲ 2006        850,000           25%▲ 2007        900,000           6%  ▲ 2008        800,000           11%▼ 2009        683,000           15%▼ Prices have held up the best in the areas close to the city where the median price was $953,000.  And prices were nearly as high in Horsehead Bay/Arletta with sales finding a median at $910,000.      Location   On Market   Pending   Sold Median List Price Median Sale Price Gig Harbor 8 2 4 $1,024,000 $953,000 Wauna/Minter 4 0 3 $515,000 $675,000 Rosedale 4 0 2 $1,373,000 $512,000 So Key Peninsula 12 2 9 $541,000 $475,000 Fox Island 18 0 9 $1,108,000 $690,000 Wollochet/Pt Fosdick 14 0 12 $1,045,000 $785,000 Horsehead/Arletta 31 2 5 $1,295,000 $910,000 Gig Harbor North 2 0 2 $512,000 $565,000 No Key Peninsula 8 0 5 $615,000 $417,000   101 6 51 $985,000 $683,000 The spread-more than 30%--between the median list and sale prices shows the huge disconnect between the homes currently on the market and the price range buyers are willing to pay to buy waterfront. Four years ago the spread between listings and sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes was $50-100,000-not $300,000.  Closed homes experienced only four months, on average, of market time while the current inventory is nearing six months of exposure. Just nine homes closed for over $1m. The most expensive was a Raft Island home with a deep-water dock. Five were purchased by boaters because of the docks, two will be torn down or substantially rebuilt, and three were purchased for second home use. I anticipate prices to increase very gradually during 2010. But there are no signs that any part of the real estate market will show any but very minor improvement until 2011, and even then not robust growth. There will be a few more sales made and motivated sellers who prepare and price their home for the current market should see offers as some jumbo money becomes available. Several of these Gig Harbor waterfront homes were purchased with cash and I expect cash to remain king this year as well. Inventory always builds in the spring and sellers should be aware that traditionally the best months for offers for Gig Harbor waterfront homes are March to June. Sellers who truly want to sell need to get the price right for this selling season.  Buyers will have a wide selection of homes and can expect to buy at prices they haven't seen for several years. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com.
Uncategorized Gig Harbor waterfront homes sell at 2005 prices Gig Harbor waterfront homes sell at 2005 prices Gig Harbor waterfront homes sold at a much faster clip this past year but median sales prices compare remarkably close to 2005-no where near the 2006-2007 peak. 2009's price for Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor waterfront homes was $683,000. This closely parallels the decline in sales of all homes in the area Sales in 2008 were depressingly slow-only 22-the worst year for sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes for the nearly three decades I've been recording waterfront market statistics. This year's 51 sales are a 128% improvement but it is still the second worse year of the past 15. The ups and downs in median prices for Gig Harbor waterfront homes over the past six years: 2004        488,000 2005        680,000           40%▲ 2006        850,000           25%▲ 2007        900,000           6%  ▲ 2008        800,000           11%▼ 2009        683,000           15%▼ Prices have held up the best in the areas close to the city where the median price was $953,000.  And prices were nearly as high in Horsehead Bay/Arletta with sales finding a median at $910,000.      Location   On Market   Pending   Sold Median List Price Median Sale Price Gig Harbor 8 2 4 $1,024,000 $953,000 Wauna/Minter 4 0 3 $515,000 $675,000 Rosedale 4 0 2 $1,373,000 $512,000 So Key Peninsula 12 2 9 $541,000 $475,000 Fox Island 18 0 9 $1,108,000 $690,000 Wollochet/Pt Fosdick 14 0 12 $1,045,000 $785,000 Horsehead/Arletta 31 2 5 $1,295,000 $910,000 Gig Harbor North 2 0 2 $512,000 $565,000 No Key Peninsula 8 0 5 $615,000 $417,000   101 6 51 $985,000 $683,000 The spread-more than 30%--between the median list and sale prices shows the huge disconnect between the homes currently on the market and the price range buyers are willing to pay to buy waterfront. Four years ago the spread between listings and sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes was $50-100,000-not $300,000.  Closed homes experienced only four months, on average, of market time while the current inventory is nearing six months of exposure. Just nine homes closed for over $1m. The most expensive was a Raft Island home with a deep-water dock. Five were purchased by boaters because of the docks, two will be torn down or substantially rebuilt, and three were purchased for second home use. I anticipate prices to increase very gradually during 2010. But there are no signs that any part of the real estate market will show any but very minor improvement until 2011, and even then not robust growth. There will be a few more sales made and motivated sellers who prepare and price their home for the current market should see offers as some jumbo money becomes available. Several of these Gig Harbor waterfront homes were purchased with cash and I expect cash to remain king this year as well. Inventory always builds in the spring and sellers should be aware that traditionally the best months for offers for Gig Harbor waterfront homes are March to June. Sellers who truly want to sell need to get the price right for this selling season.  Buyers will have a wide selection of homes and can expect to buy at prices they haven't seen for several years. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com.
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home prices continue to climb out of hole Gig Harbor home prices continue to climb out of hole Gig Harbor home prices are continuing to sustain moderately higher sales prices as 2009 closes out. December is the fifth of the last six months to show improvement year over year. Gig Harbor is defined as the Gig Harbor peninsula and Fox Island. Gig Harbor home prices are up 1% over 2008, comparing the months of December only. The 4-county Puget Sound area however experienced a 7% decrease in sales price. Another plus--sales of Gig Harbor homes have been better than 2008 for the last half year now-in each of those six months.    While December sales improved by 7% over November-which is not the norm-they were up dramatically 41% over 2008 and 160% over 2007. The 4-county Puget Sound area reported 54.7% more sales than last year, but Gig Harbor home prices (median sales price) are substantially higher than the Puget Sound, as a whole. December was a stronger market than Realtors were expecting and there appears to be momentum to keep the market moving. Much of the activity is still being driven by first-time home buyer tax credits as well as favorable interest rates. Unfortunately the substantial volume of foreclosures has driven down prices-a trend likely to persist throughout 2010. The strongest segment in Gig Harbor home prices the past thirty days has been in the $350-450k range, a segment actually entering  the beginning of a seller's market. Inventory continues to drop-last month down 8% from November, but down 19% from December 2008. The 4-county Puget Sound area has experienced a nearly identical decrease in inventory. New homes sales are on the same tract with 11 months of inventory. The table I've supplied for Gig Harbor home prices shows single family homes only.   Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate/Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be followed at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Key Peninsula home prices are on a roller coaster Key Peninsula home prices are on a roller coaster Key Peninsula home prices are higher one month and lower the next, compared to 2008. While sales prices were lower in December they followed three months of higher prices. Key Peninsula home prices are down 10% from 2008 and 14% from 2007. That compares to Gig Harbor that bumped up 1% over 2008 and the 4-county Puget Sound area that dropped 7% decrease in prices. On the other hand, sales of Key Peninsula homes have been showing a tidy increase, with 33% over 2008 and 29% from 2007 year-over-year. The change from 2008 is on a par with Gig Harbor but sales in Gig Harbor are a whopping 160% better than 2007.  At the same time the 4-county Puget Sound area reported 54.7% more sales than last year so both Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula are some distance behind regional figures for this measure. Realtors have been pleased with the relatively strong market for December and the momentum appears to be continuing with sales activity in January. Much of those sales are being driven by the first-time home buyer tax credits and low interest rates. Interest rates are starting to tick upward and are expected to peak around 6.5% during 2010. Inventory continues to drop-down 33% from last year at this time. This is helping stabilize prices as the home supply dwindles. Key Peninsula is currently experiencing just an 8.8 month supply of homes on the market. For the homebuyer, that means if no new homes were listed, it would take about nine months to sell the current inventory. I would expect the supply to drop even more as January sales activity continues to hum.   Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate/Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.66 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be followed at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Short sales small percent of Gig Harbor home sales Short sales small percent of Gig Harbor home sales  National media hypes short sales and bank-owned properties as a large part of the market, but in Gig Harbor they represent a smaller portion of Gig Harbor home sales than the casual observer might think. Key Peninsula is not as fortunate but still better than many parts of the country. 22.6% of Gig Harbor home sales in the past six months have been bank-owned or short sales and 41% in Key Peninsula. This compares to figures as high as 80% of all sales in Las Vegas and 50% in Phoenix and Southern California and parts of Florida. North Las Vegas currently has one in 50 homes in some stage of foreclosure, and in parts of Phoenix it is one in 20 homes, and some areas of southern California it is one in 50 homes. In Washington State one in 834 homeowners is in financial trouble with the bank but in Pierce County it is one in 418 owners, making it the highest rate of foreclosure in the state. Dissecting short sales and bank-owned numbers--7% of Gig Harbor home sales have been short sales and 15.5% bank-owned. Key Peninsula's stats are a bit gloomier. Short sales represented 6.4% but bank-owned made up 28% of all sales. Pierce County, in the past six months, turned out 35% of sales as short sales and bank-owned units. So our Key Peninsula fits the county norm. An interesting side note is the pending sales. Pending sales (transactions not yet closed) indicate 25% more short sales or bank-owned are in the current mix than have closed in all the past 6 months. There are 85 pending in Gig Harbor and 32 in Key Peninsula while sales in those categories only total 64 and 43 respectively. This is not a surprise to Realtors or buyers who have tried to negotiate short sales with lenders. Many of the transactions written will never close due to difficulty of working through one and sometimes two lenders. Many buyers become frustrated with the situation and move on to other good deals in the marketplace. Bank-owned homes run the price gamut, with 19 under $250,000, 13 between $250-500,000 and 7 over $500,000-in fact running all the way up to $1m and above. This is the place the buyers can be certain the lender wants to sell and a sale can be completed. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be followed at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com      
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Uncategorized Gig Harbor WA Salt Waterfront Home for Sale on Raft Island Gig Harbor WA Salt Waterfront Home for Sale on Raft Island. Vintage 1966, this 4000sq ft daylight rambler waterfront home has good bones. Stunning views of the Olympics, with 80' of medium-low bank, warmer water for summer swimming & boating with pebble beach & new bulkhead. Currently 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens & 2 fireplaces. Plus an additional upland lot. Renew & polish this diamond in the rough. Second lot across street is included. This is listed at an astonishing price of $559,000.   Raft Island was named because, from a distance, the island appeared to some sailors be a floating raft. Two men who claimed the entire island in 1889 first settled Raft Island, clear-cutting and shipping logs out from the early settlement period of the 1880s. The second-growth timber was used for pilings, saw logs, and mine props in the 1920s. Large rafts of logs were harvested from throughout the Henderson Bay area, including the island.         In the late 1920s, the entire island was purchased and used it as a hunting and recreational resort, his home later becoming the Catholic Church camp. He brought electric power to Raft Island. The bridge to Raft Island was built over the narrow, tidal channel on the south side. Presently 190 families live on the island. There are three community beaches and parks. Call me at 253.549.6611 for more information about this or another salt waterfront  home for sale or visit me at Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor.    Area residents have consistently demonstrated their strong commitment to provide a high quality public education to nearly 10,000 students. The district enjoys a statewide reputation for meeting the educational needs of today's students who become tomorrow's leaders. In addition, Gig Harbor has nearly a dozen private schools.  The Harbor History Museum is located on Gig Harbor Bay and allows visitors a place to experience the history of Gig Harbor. The Museum is in the process of relocating to a new multi-million dollar facility, highlighted by the Shenandoah, a purse seiner built in a Gig Harbor shipyard and the Midway schoolhouse. While Gig Harbor was once most known for its fishing and logging, it is now also known for its numerous art galleries, art walks and art shows. Two theatre companies in Gig Harbor provide entertainment including dinner theatre and summer outdoor theatre. The Gig Harbor area is ideal for enjoying water-related recreation. Whether you prefer water skiing, power or sail boating, kayaking, fresh or salt water fishing, scuba driving, windsurfing, clamming, beachcombing or swimming, the secluded harbors provide excellent moorage and docking facilities. There are four state parks. Boat ramps are located near the major bays. Gig Harbor operates a waterfront park, a park on Crescent Creek, a boat-building facility and a pioneer farm. Eight golf courses offer year-round golf close to Gig Harbor. Numerous events are scheduled throughout the year, largely centered on the Gig Harbor waterfront, including farmers markets, outdoor cinema, Tuesday night music at the park, and lighted holiday boat parade. Youth and adult baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, dance, and soccer programs are provided through community organizations. Two local pools provide swimming opportunities for the community and swim clubs. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Key Peninsula home prices up in November Key Peninsula home prices up in November  Key Peninsula home prices are up for the third month in a row but sales just barely beat 2008.  This is the third month in a row with higher median prices than a year ago and is a trend going the right way for homeowners The $248,000 median sales price is an uptick of 27% compared to the same month last year ($196,000) but virtually the same as October. But it is still down 20% over the high of late 2006-early 2007.   November is the first month with more sales than either 2008 (up 10%) or 2007 (up 5%) but is the fifth of the last six months to better 2008 numbers. This certainly has to be encouraging to homeowners and to Realtors alike. These figures include all Key Peninsula zip codes--part of the Gig Harbor multiple listing service area. The statistics are not as strong as Gig Harbor which doubled year-over-year or Pierce County as a whole, which showed sales up 73% in November. However Pierce County displayed a dip in median sales price of 3.5% while Gig Harbor was up 30%. This uptick in sales price can be explained by some more depth to the closings-something Key Peninsula home prices have not experienced lately. The sales include a wide variety--three salt waterfront, two view, two lake front and five bank-owned properties.  The $8000 tax credit has been fueling the market all year, but this demonstrates sales have finally moved beyond that single market segment and speaks to overall stability for Key Peninsula home prices. For the homebuyer still interested in using the tax credit and the very low interest rates available-inventory is dropping quickly and time is short to take advantage of this segment.   Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be contacted at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. You may follow her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com.
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home sales and prices up big in November Gig Harbor home sales and prices up big in November Gig Harbor home sales more than doubled from 2008 and median prices are up for the third month in a row. November sales not only bested 2008 but, surprisingly, they also beat 2007 numbers. November represents three out of the last five months with more sales than either 2008 or 2007. This trend is going the right way for homeowners. These figures include both single family and condominiums and encompass Gig Harbor and Fox Island zip codes 98332, 98333, and 98335. The statistics are stronger than Pierce County as a whole, which show sales up 73% year-over-year, but a dip in median sales price of 3.5%.   The $406,250 median sales price is an increase of 30% compared to the same month last year ($313,000) and 6% better than October. But it is still down 18% over the high of late 2006-early 2007. This is the fourth month out of the last five with higher median prices than a year ago and is another trend going the right way for homeowners. This uptick in sales price can be explained by both the depth and the breadth seen in November's closings-something Gig Harbor home sales have not seen recently. The sales include a wide mix of homes-four in Canterwood, three salt waterfront, six view, five new, seven bank-owned properties and six condos. Sales of higher-end Canterwood homes and condos have long been absent from Gig Harbor home sales. While the $8000 tax credit has been fueling the market all year, this demonstrates sales have finally moved beyond that single market segment. This speaks well for overall stability for Gig Harbor's market. For the homebuyer still interested in using the tax credit and the very low interest rates available-inventory is dropping quickly and time is short to take advantage of this segment. Sales are spread throughout the Gig Harbor peninsula with noticeably more seen on Fox Island than there have been for  months. November's median price on condos closed was $280,000; for single family residential it was $418,000.   Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be contacted at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. You may follow her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com.
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home sales follow western trend Gig Harbor home sales follow western trend Nationally home sales rose 21% and in the West 10% in October, compared to a year ago. Gig Harbor home sales were up slightly less--8% from 2008. These numbers are certainly an improvement but October 2008 was a sobering sales month after the financial crises of AIG, Lehman, and others. November 2008 was even worse but this year Gig Harbor home sales are on track to beat 2008 by at least 25%.  The median price is up in 98333 and 98335 from September, an improvement from the year-over-year figures. We are cautiously optimistic we have reached the bottom for prices for Gig Harbor home sales as we are seeing some higher price sales currently. Another month of similar figures and we might call it a trend. Here are current trends for the three zip codes constituting Gig Harbor.       98332     98333     98335         Oct 09     Oct 09     Oct 09       change     change     change Inventory                   Oct 09   259     77     300   Sep 09   280 7.5%▼   80 3.7%▼   332 9.6%▼ Oct 08   262 1.1%▼   79 2.5%▼   394 23.9%▼                     Sold                   Oct 09   18     2     19   Sep 09   26 30.8%▼   2 No change   32 40.6%▼ Oct 08   13 38.5%▲   1 100%▲   22 13.6%▼                     Median price                   Oct 09   392,000     326,000     380,000   Sep 09   401,000 2.4%▼   307,000 5.6%▲   375,000 1.4%▲ Oct 08   300,000 23%▼   377,000 13%▼   352,000 8.4%▼  Inventory is down across all three zip codes. Fewer homes on the market equates to upward price pressure for Gig Harbor home sales.  In zip 98335 where inventory shows the biggest decrease, the ratio for 12 months of sales compared to current inventory is 87%, but in Fox Island the ratio is 52%. This is largely explained by more higher-priced homes-view and waterfront-on the island.  Sales are up 8% across the board for the year but down 35% from September, not surprising going into winter. The gain in 98332 represents Canterwood breaking out of the doldrums as well as homes selling for $350-400,000, including four builder's houses with multiple offers in short sale conditions. The "sweet spot" for Gig Harbor home sales currently is pending contracts not yet closed, listed between $300-400,000 in Gig Harbor North and Arletta/Artondale. For the most part, these are 2600-2800 square foot homes built between 1992 and 1998. In Gig Harbor, as the nation, foreclosures and other distressed homes in the lower end of the price spectrum still accounted for a large percentage of Gig Harbor home sales. This is a drag on the median price which is down about 38% from the 2005 peak in the West but up 8% from the bottom last spring.  Buyers, waiting for the bottom, should consider ramping up their home search, as the inventory of certain price range homes is very slim locally. With the expanded $6500 credit incentive for existing homeowners who have lived in their home for at least five years, and interest rates under 5%, the time to buy could be NOW. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog is posted at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com.      
Uncategorized Gig Harbor WA Salt Waterfront Home for Sale at Warren Gig Harbor WA Salt Waterfront Home for Sale at Warren. It's all about LIFESTYLE! This premier 100 foot sunny southern exposure medium-lowbank waterfront offers an in-ground heated pool & spa, views reaching from Rainier to Green Pt & beyond, a 80×14 foot patio at water's edge & boathouse with winch-all on one of the nicest pebble beaches offered by any salt waterfront home for sale in the area. Add a little more-a comfortable 2500 square foot 3 bedroom home, a spacious entertaining deck, two covered patios, shop, easy access to the beach, beautiful well-maintained landscaping-all on 7/10 acre of backlands & tidelands. This is the lifestyle and you CAN have it all! Call me at 253.549.6611 for more information about this or another salt waterfront  home for sale or visit me at Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor.     The first Euro-American settlement in Warren began in the late 1870s.  A permanent dock was constructed in the early 1910s and farming formed the economic base for the community at the beginning. In the late 1920s, local residents constructed a road connecting Warren to Arletta and Horsehead Bay.    Area residents have consistently demonstrated their strong commitment to provide a high quality public education to nearly 10,000 students. The district enjoys a statewide reputation for meeting the educational needs of today's students who become tomorrow's leaders. In addition, Gig Harbor has nearly a dozen private schools.  The Harbor History Museum is located on Gig Harbor Bay and allows visitors a place to experience the history of Gig Harbor. The Museum is in the process of relocating to a new multi-million dollar facility, highlighted by the Shenandoah, a purse seiner built in a Gig Harbor shipyard and the Midway schoolhouse. While Gig Harbor was once most known for its fishing and logging, it is now also known for its numerous art galleries, art walks and art shows. Two theatre companies in Gig Harbor provide entertainment including dinner theatre and summer outdoor theatre. The Gig Harbor area is ideal for enjoying water-related recreation. Whether you prefer water skiing, power or sail boating, kayaking, fresh or salt water fishing, scuba driving, windsurfing, clamming, beachcombing or swimming, the secluded harbors provide excellent moorage and docking facilities. There are four state parks. Boat ramps are located near the major bays. Gig Harbor operates a waterfront park, a park on Crescent Creek, a boat-building facility and a pioneer farm. Eight golf courses offer year-round golf close to Gig Harbor. Numerous events are scheduled throughout the year, largely centered on the Gig Harbor waterfront, including farmers markets, outdoor cinema, Tuesday night music at the park, and lighted holiday boat parade. Youth and adult baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, dance, and soccer programs are provided through community organizations. Two local pools provide swimming opportunities for the community and swim clubs. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Gig Harbor WA Salt Waterfront Home for Sale at Warren Gig Harbor WA Salt Waterfront Home for Sale at Warren. It's all about LIFESTYLE! This premier 100 foot sunny southern exposure medium-lowbank waterfront offers an in-ground heated pool & spa, views reaching from Rainier to Green Pt & beyond, a 80×14 foot patio at water's edge & boathouse with winch-all on one of the nicest pebble beaches offered by any salt waterfront home for sale in the area. Add a little more-a comfortable 2500 square foot 3 bedroom home, a spacious entertaining deck, two covered patios, shop, easy access to the beach, beautiful well-maintained landscaping-all on 7/10 acre of backlands & tidelands. This is the lifestyle and you CAN have it all! Call me at 253.549.6611 for more information about this or another salt waterfront  home for sale or visit me at Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor.     The first Euro-American settlement in Warren began in the late 1870s.  A permanent dock was constructed in the early 1910s and farming formed the economic base for the community at the beginning. In the late 1920s, local residents constructed a road connecting Warren to Arletta and Horsehead Bay.    Area residents have consistently demonstrated their strong commitment to provide a high quality public education to nearly 10,000 students. The district enjoys a statewide reputation for meeting the educational needs of today's students who become tomorrow's leaders. In addition, Gig Harbor has nearly a dozen private schools.  The Harbor History Museum is located on Gig Harbor Bay and allows visitors a place to experience the history of Gig Harbor. The Museum is in the process of relocating to a new multi-million dollar facility, highlighted by the Shenandoah, a purse seiner built in a Gig Harbor shipyard and the Midway schoolhouse. While Gig Harbor was once most known for its fishing and logging, it is now also known for its numerous art galleries, art walks and art shows. Two theatre companies in Gig Harbor provide entertainment including dinner theatre and summer outdoor theatre. The Gig Harbor area is ideal for enjoying water-related recreation. Whether you prefer water skiing, power or sail boating, kayaking, fresh or salt water fishing, scuba driving, windsurfing, clamming, beachcombing or swimming, the secluded harbors provide excellent moorage and docking facilities. There are four state parks. Boat ramps are located near the major bays. Gig Harbor operates a waterfront park, a park on Crescent Creek, a boat-building facility and a pioneer farm. Eight golf courses offer year-round golf close to Gig Harbor. Numerous events are scheduled throughout the year, largely centered on the Gig Harbor waterfront, including farmers markets, outdoor cinema, Tuesday night music at the park, and lighted holiday boat parade. Youth and adult baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, dance, and soccer programs are provided through community organizations. Two local pools provide swimming opportunities for the community and swim clubs. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com
Uncategorized Bank-owned Gig Harbor home sales business lower than nation Bank-owned Gig Harbor home sales business lower than nation Bank-owned and short sale homes are striking the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula markets with less impact than much the rest of the nation.  In Gig Harbor, less than 13% of all the homes listed and slightly more than 14% of sales fall into this category. In Key Peninsula, slightly more than 20% of the inventory fits this classification while sold homes are pushing 40% in the past 30 days.  The Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue area is running 17.8% of all sales but some places in the nation are running much higher-56% in Phoenix, 67% in Las Vegas and 43% in Southern California. 10.68% of the inventory but only 8% of the sales on the combined peninsulas are short sales. 4% of the inventory is bank-owned but 13% of the sales are from this group. This table is the 30 day period, ending November 11, for Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor home sales   Total   Gig Harbor    Key Peninsula  Active   611   203 Vacant   197   83 Active Short Sale   56   31 % Active Short Sale   9.17%   15.27% Active Bank-owned   22   12 % Active Bank-owned   3.6%   5.91% Pending   79   49 Pending Short Sale   31   15 Pending Bank-owned   13   13 Sold   41   21 Sold Short Sale   3   2 % Sold Short Sale   7.32%   9.52% Sold Bank-owned   3   6 % Sold Bank-owned   7.32%   28.57%  Gig Harbor home sales show short sale and bank-owned homes selling in all price ranges but currently the $200-350,000 range is most active, with a few distressed properties even over $1million. Currently there is no bank-owned home listed over $1million. The large number of pending short sales among Gig Harbor home sales is indicative of the large backlog of buyers hoping the bank will agree to their price.  They typically wait for weeks or maybe months to negotiate with the lender. In Western Washington these short sales are taking more than nine weeks for bank response-twice as long as a year ago.  This creates constant fallout of pending sales each month as buyers get tired of waiting for bank response and write an offer on another home.  Another significant factor of Gig Harbor home sales prompted by the downturn is the large quantity of vacant homes-some new homes, some foreclosed and some where the owner has already relocated. 32% of listings in Gig Harbor and 41% in Key Peninsula fit this description.  Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Her blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com.
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months At least four major statistics show a turn-around in Gig Harbor home sales, including sales prices.   October is the fifth month in the past six showing home sales better than 2008, equaling Septe...
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months At least four major statistics show a turn-around in Gig Harbor home sales, including sales prices.   October is the fifth month in the past six showing home sales better than 2008, equaling Septe...
Uncategorized Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008 Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008 Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far be...
Uncategorized Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008 Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008 Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far be...
Uncategorized Gig Harbor home sales start to equalize in Key Peninsula Gig Harbor home sales start to equalize in Key Peninsula A snapshot of Gig Harbor home sales shows a nearly balanced market for Key Peninsula mailing addresses. Zip codes 98329 and 98394(Wauna, Vaughn and Key Center) have just slightly more than a seven month supply of homes in inventory. A balanced-or neutral market-is generally considered six to seven month home inventory, based on number of sales in that month. When the number drops below six months it generally becomes a seller's market. 6.3 months of inventory was normal in this area during the strong sales years of 2002-2007 so the current seven months supply is a very strong number. A high of 40 months was reached last January. Median prices are still dropping-over 10% in third quarter compared to the same period last year, with 15 closings-a high percentage of "bank-involved" sales pulling prices down. A perspective on prices over the past few years--the current median sales price--$209,000--equals first quarter 2005 when homes were selling for 99% of listed price. The median price will only increase when buyers have an appetite for something other than foreclosures and short sales and when consumer confidence is restored. Unfortunately, locally there are still many foreclosures in the pipeline. The zip codes of 98349 and 98351 (Longbranch, Lakebay and Home) have only an 8.9 month inventory of homes, based on the sales pace in September. This is looking positive for an area that experienced a 6.9 month supply of homes during the boom years of 2002-2005 but has been running double digits and a high of 49 months supply last November. The median sales price is down for third quarter by 15.4% representing 10 sales. In this area the median price has been "reset" to prices established the first nine months of 2005 when homes were selling for 98.5% of listed price.   This table shows Key Peninsula zip codes 98329/98394 and 98349/98351 for Gig Harbor home sales for September 2009 and 2008.                                              Gig Harbor home sales 98329 & 98394 98349 & 98351 Number of active listings ▼29.5% ▼21.9% Number of homes sold ▲50% ▲42.9% Median sales price ▼ 10.7% ▼15.4%   (3rd Qtr comparison) $209,000 $176,000 Number months inventory ▼53% ▼50%   (based on closed sales) 7.3 months 8.9 months Readers must be careful not to read too much into a single month comparison but these figures are encouraging to local Realtors. The 17-month graphs below show the bigger picture in Gig Harbor home sales in these zip codes. With the median price hovering at and below $200,000, homes in these areas have been snapped up by first-time buyers as they receive the $8000 tax credit. This tax credit is expected to be extended. Month-to-month figures will continue to fluctuate as the market continues to stabilize. And expect inventory to climb as winter takes it toll on sales    98349 and 98351                              98329 and 98394                                Throughout the entire Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula market area, sales for October are on track to close higher numbers than last year. Several price ranges are showing the first signs of strength in a year, namely in the low $500's and the mid $400's and $600's.                                                                                                                                                       Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com or 253.549.6611. Her real estate blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com  
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