Even as national economists predict that the State of Washington will come in last or near-last in the race to recover from the downturn in the economy and state politicians anxiously consider plugging budget holes with ferry rate increases and gasoline taxes, one segment of the local economy has hung tough in the face of layoffs, slowdowns in tourism and slides in retail sales: Puget Sound real estate.

Bolstered in part by Federal interest rate reductions, residents and business owners in Kitsap County and other regions of Western Washington remain committed to real estate for their lifestyle and financial investments and few builders in the region have helped contribute to that economic phenomenon more than The Reijnen Company.

Based on Bainbridge Island, the nineteen-year old custom construction and design company specializes in building high-end, custom homes in and around Kitsap County. With residential projects averaging in at $1.5 million – and many of their projects having budgets of between $2 and $3 million – company founder Derek Reijnen sees little to no reserve in what their clients are willing to spend on their idea of the perfect home.

“If we’re seeing any real trend right now,” said Reijnen, “it’s towards more expensive, more complex homes. Our clients and their architects are asking for home designs that have a complexity that used to be found (predominantly) in exclusive areas such as Mercer Island…they’re now looking for that same level of design here on Kitsap.”

The economy, Reijnen says, doesn’t seem to be having much of an impact on his company’s business, at least not in the residential market. “What we’re not seeing happen is a trend toward smaller homes and that surprises me,” said Reijnen. “Our clients seem very clear on what they want and where they want to live. Many of them are relocating to Kitsap from ‘across the water’ (laughs) but would rather commute into the city via ferry than in traffic on the highway. For them, building a home here is about lifestyle.”

 The 47-year old Reijnen, formerly a founding partner in the California-based design and building firm of Brissenden, Reijnen and Cook, can understand that lifestyle lure since it’s what induced him to start his new firm in this region, first in Port Townsend in 1983 and later an auxiliary office on Bainbridge in 1989.

Reijnen has since consolidated those two offices — and the company’s forty-two full-time employees — into the Bainbridge Island facility where a mix of architects, project managers, construction superintendents, drafting and administrative personnel manage the mix of residential, commercial and restoration projects that the company tackles at any given time.

Although Reijnen estimates that nearly seventy-five percent of the company’s current work schedule revolves around new residential contracts, the company continues to run a division that handles multi-family and commercial projects and, effective this month, has established a third division that will manage insurance restoration projects exclusively.

Based in Seattle, the new division will work with insurance companies and property owners on restoration and rebuild projects that are required due to smoke, fire and earthquake damage.

Reijnen, who began his career in construction and design specializing in commercial work, admits that his heart is really in the field of custom residential projects.

“In commercial real estate, you’re working primarily with architects whereas with residential you’re working with both a client’s architect and with the client directly. There’s more creative ‘juice’ working with a client because it’s their dream that you’re building…we’ve become experts at working to make complex designs and wishes come together.”

Part of that design complexity, Reijnen admits, has to do with the availability of both lots and permits in Kitsap County.

“We have a number of issues to deal with,” said Reijnen. “Easy, flat waterfront lots are almost entirely gone so we’re dealing with more complex sites these days…perhaps sloping lots or lots that have existing structures on them. Of course, building on or near water has its own issues ranging from engineering to permits. Part of our success in this region has been having on-staff specialists who know what’s required to work within the parameters of what’s available.”

If the stagnate economy hasn’t slowed down the interest in consumers to build dream homes, the lower interest rates haven’t hurt commercial and residential remodels either, said Reijnen.

“Even in commercial real estate,” stated Reijnen, “we saw people begin moving towards owning their property – perhaps an office condominium – as opposed to building out or customizing leased space. Even though the slowdown in the economy has made more office space available here on Bainbridge, much like in Seattle, we’re still seeing business owners investing in their commercial space and I think the lower interest rates have helped that along.”

The Reijnen Company’s work schedule would seem to indicate that whatever is happening in the local economy, it isn’t dimming the desires of those wanting to put their money into Kitsap County real estate.

“There’s no question that people are perhaps looking at investments differently these days,” admits Reijnen, “and perhaps people are changing their minds about having a second home or a new car but when it comes to their primary house or the house that they’re hoping to retire in, they’re clear on what they want and what they’re willing to pay to make it happen. A custom home built to fit a client’s life, a client’s family, is the kind of investment that people seem committed to making right now, perhaps more than ever.”.