Have high-density “Smart Growth” developments like Poulsbo Place (pictured above) had an impact on forcing local prices higher? Some local Realtors believe they have

In the last seven years, Kitsap County has experienced a change in residential development. Areas that once featured neighborhoods made up of homes on relatively large lots and traditional suburban communities are now seeing higher-density housing projects. Smaller, single family homes on smaller parcels of land. Apartment-style condominiums and townhouses where once a single house might have stood. Mixed-use developments combining retail, office, and residential space.

These higher-density developments — called “smart growth” by some, and spurred at least in part by the Growth Management Act passed by Washington in 1990 — give a sense of the urban to the communities in which they are built. They have small or no yards, are built close together, and offer residents easy access to shopping, restaurants, and public transportation. Some notable high-density developments built in this area are Poulsbo Place in Poulsbo; and the Madison Avenue Cottages — the first “smart growth” development in the county — Winslow Mews, the Courtyards on Madison, and Ericksen Cottages, all on Bainbridge Island.

But aside from changing the faces of their communities, what effect, if any, have these developments had on Kitsap County’s real estate market?

The answer to that question appears to be, “It depends on who you ask.”

“There’s been a 20 percent appreciation in Poulsbo since the Poulsbo Place project started,” said Brenda Prowse, of Brenda Prowse Properties in Poulsbo. “We should be taking our hats off to them.”

The Poulsbo Place houses have definitely increased in value since the first units went on the market.

“I sold one of the first Poulsbo Place houses for $150,000 to a Navy couple,” said Prowse. Now homes in the development sell for $250,000 to $275,000 and up, and sometimes sell for more than $300,000.

Penny McLaughlin, of RE/Max Platinum Services in Poulsbo, agrees that Poulsbo Place has raised home prices in the town.

“Poulsbo Place homes now cost more per square foot than houses on Bainbridge Island,” said McLaughlin.

But Jane Woodward, of John L. Scott Poulsbo, sees rising prices in the town due more to an overall availability issue.

“It’s a beautiful development, but I think it’s a lack of inventory in the area” that’s raising prices, she said.

That also appears to be the story with high-density development on Bainbridge Island.

“You can’t just say because this development happened, that increased prices,” said Rod McKenzie, owner of Coldwell Banker McKenzie Associates. “Under the Winslow Master Plan, 50 percent of Bainbridge Island’s population density has to be in Winslow. When the city made the decision to rezone to increase property densities, property values changed.”

McKenzie also cites low inventory on Bainbridge Island, and in the county in general, as a reason for increasing home prices.

“Low inventory leads to multiple offers, which encourages higher prices,” he said.

So there seems to be a certain chicken-or-the-egg flavor to this question. All agree that high-density developments appeal to a buyer who wants a certain lifestyle — lower maintenance housing that’s close to conveniences such as shopping, restaurants, and public transportation, such as the ferry. And it could be said that that kind of buyer might have more discretionary income to spend on housing. Based on square footage the residences in these developments do seem to cost more than neighboring houses in more “traditional” neighborhoods. Is this a “lifestyle” cost, similar to the extra money one would pay for waterfront property? Perhaps.

In all probability it is a combination of these factors that have contributed to rising costs in these areas. After all, housing prices in Bremerton have increased dramatically as well, and there are no planned, high-density developments there — yet.