Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal Article - News, Business, Homes, Politics, Automotive, Reviews, Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Bainbridge

Local brokers say because of low interest rates and a shrinking inventory, if homes are clean and priced right, they’re gone.

   No matter what part of Kitsap County you may want to buy a home in, you can expect to compete for it according to local brokers. It seems just about everyone we talked to is as busy as they can be. According to some local brokers, inventory numbers are a concern, and that multiple offers are becoming a factor once again as low interest rates have opened the market to many more buyers.
   However, when you look at the statistics released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for the first quarter, there doesn’t seem to be much difference in the totals from last year, and if anything, business appears slightly slower overall although pending sales figures are up. But real estate is a business where 20 percent of the people make 80 percent of the money, so how good business really is depends on who you talk to.
   When looking at closed sales, the median price of a home in Kitsap is $139,950 while the median price a year ago was $950 less. The average price this month was $193,750. However local real estate pros always take that number with a grain of salt because Bainbridge Island is part of that average and prices there are significantly higher there than in the rest of the county.
   Doug Murphy, manager of the Port Orchard Windermere office said, “Business is great. It seems what’s happening is we’re selling inventory that’s been around for some time, in some cases a year or more.”
   When asked what’s selling, he answered, “The under $150,000 market is on fire. We have a good market above that as well, but under $150,000 is just phenomenal. Sales in South Kitsap for March are up 33 percent over March last year.”
   Murphy said that the year started strong right out of the gate and his office has had the best three months in its history.
   Dave Walden, who owns the Prudential Real Estate offices in Port Orchard, Silverdale and Belfair, said enthusiastically, “Business has been phenomenal for us. Each month since January has been a record month in sales for our office. If we stay on this pace, we’ll see a 60 percent increase in business. Our Silverdale office is up 41 percent year to date as well.”
   Asked the “What’s selling” question, Walden replied, “It’s across the board. A big chunk of our sales in the south end are middle and upper income new construction. In Silverdale it’s been straight residential resale.” He also added that, “Belfair is up this year too, but just marginally, three to five percent.”
   Mike Rochon, manager at the Port Orchard branch of Reid Real Estate, echoed Murphy and Walden. “Business is excellent right now, We are selling twice as many homes as are being listed.”
   What is his office selling? “We’re finding it hard to find enough homes to sell in the $100,000 to $130,000 range. Also, homes the $190,000 to $220,000 are going well. Naturally, those that are priced properly and are appealing are going first.”
   In Bremerton, Mary Ellen Hooks, broker at All Points Properties said, “Business is fine, much like last year, which was an excellent year. Of course we’d always like it to be better,” she laughed.
   “Anything we would consider to be in an affordable price range is selling quickly. Without question, the fastest selling homes are neat, clean and under $150,000. The hottest are three bedroom homes in Central Kitsap, East or West Bremerton, priced anywhere between $90,000 and $130,000.”
   Hooks noted that what real estate professionals as well as buyers are having to deal with is the reality of the Growth Management Act (GMA) and how it has manipulated the law of supply and demand, artifically inflating the prices of homes.
   “Prices are going up because there’s little or no new construction and inventory is lower than it has been in years. Consumers who purchased five to seven years ago would be absolutely shocked at the lack of inventory and the prices compared to when they bought. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to afford to buy the homes they live in today.”
   At the Bremerton Windermere office, broker Jessica Kennedy was asked how business is and she laughed and replied, “Busy, busy, busy.”
   What’s her office selling? The same story as All Points. “Just about anything, as long as it’s well priced,” Kennedy said. “If it is, it’s gone. Our average market time is less than 80 days from listing to closed.”
   In Silverdale, according to Art Locke, broker at Century 21 Anchor Associates, “Business has been really great. It’s amazing how it’s picked up since interest rates came down. If you look at the inventory, it’s about half of what it was a year ago. We’re seeing full price offers and multiple offers again. Just last week we had two properties that had three offers on them all in the same day.”
   What’s selling in Central Kitsap? Locke says anything under $150,000 is on the market for less than 90 days and anything under $130,000 is gone within 30 days.
   In Kingston, “Business has been very, very good,” said Sonny Woodward, an agent at John L. Scott who is one of the top producing agents in the county. “The dilemma is getting good, quality properties listed at fair market prices. There is a fair amount of properties listed, but the good ones are getting picked off real fast.”
   He added, “Well-priced properties that are close to the ferry are moving well, and we have a couple of new plats that have come on and are starting to move also.
   Woodward echoed Hooks’ concerns about the impact of the GMA on prices. “Locally, our biggest problem is going to be the future lack of new construction, at least until the Urban Growth Area issue in Kingston is resolved. Once that is, it will help until it’s built out, but there will still be lag time for construction and that will impact the price of resale homes. We’ve seen it in Seattle where resale home prices have gone out of sight because there’s no new construction.”
   “Oh my God, it’s fantastic,” gushed Karen Ramsey, broker at John L. Scott’s Poulsbo office when asked about business on the north end. “Our business is up by 50 percent over this time last year for March and looks like it will be again for April. It’s a buyer and sellers market both. The inventory is there and rates are low. We’re seeing multiple offers again.”
   What product is hot on the north end? “If land is good, it goes right away, that goes without saying,” said Ramsey. “But it seems like things in all price ranges across the board are selling and selling quickly if they’re priced right.”
   “I have more transactions in escrow than I’ve ever had in the 20 years I’ve been in the business,” said Brenda Prowse, owner of Poulsbo’s Brenda Prowse Properties. “Our prices over here are so much lower than on the other side that people are buying here because it’s so affordable.”
   So, what is she is selling? “The best priced house in each category is moving fast. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Gamblewood or it’s high-priced waterfront. I have a million dollar listing on Bainbridge, and I have had as many showings on it as I’ve have on $150,000 listings,” she said.
   On Bainbridge Island, Penny McLaughlin who owns RE/Max Unlimited North offices at Agate Pass and in Poulsbo, is the county’s busiest real estate agent. She had this to say. “The market is a level playing field right now — it’s not a buyers market and it’s not a seller’s market. We’re not seeing a lot of multiple offers — with the exception of property that is priced right and in model home condition. Those homes are selling fairly quickly.”
   Georg Syvertsen of Deschamps For Bainbridge was upbeat about the market on the Island as well. “Business year to date, and the market in general is still doing very well. Our business is up, and so is that of most offices on the Island. The big question is what impact will the Boeing announcement and the stock market have?” Syvertsen noted that although it had been reported previously that the average price of a house on Bainbridge was over $500,000, he disputed that number. “We had a $3.3 million sale and that skewed the average.” He pegged the average at around $400,000. He also said it seems there are more of the higher priced listings available now than last year, but until he sees MLS figures for the quarter it’s too soon to know if that’s a trend.
   Ed Kushner of the Windermere Bainbridge office is always analytical about the market and what impacts it in both large and small ways. He had this to say. “We know that first quarter of this year on the Island was as good as any first quarter in recent years. Our expectation, based on transactions being written right now, is that it will soften a little as the second quarter unfolds because events in the larger Puget Sound area, such as the Boeing announcement, the dotcom situation and the stock market, all ripple through Kitsap County.”
   Kushner had a detailed analysis of how sales on the Island broke down. “From the stats we complied for the first quarter, we bracketed things into three segments — up to $300,000, $300,000 to $600,000 and $600,000 and above. Compared to the first quarter of last year, that first segment is down 29 percent. That’s not because there’s no buyers, it’s just that inventory in that segment is hard to come by. In the middle segment, the first quarter this year is up almost 49 percent over last year. There’s also lots of inventory and lots of buyers in that segment. In the top segment, sales are up 25 percent over last year. Now, that’s a fairly small number of sales, so two or three sales could make a big difference, but nevertheless it’s still up 25 percent.”
   Kushner added that the overall marketplace on the Island was up about 15 percent over last year.
   Overall, it appears that the market is showing continued strength with no real slowdown on the horizon. Inventory is a concern to some brokers, but it appears that almost as many properties are being listed as are being sold in a given month. But as just about every broker and agent we spoke with said, it’s the well-priced properties in good condition that are moving. The dogs are still sitting.