Kitsap Real Estate Blog

These are truly unusual times for buyers. How much longer will this perfect storm of conditions last?

What does this mean for Kitsap real estate sellers and buyers. While home mortgage rates are more directly correlated with long term treasury securities short term interest rate increases will put upward pressure on those instruments.

The National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo publish research about the affordability of housing in all metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the country. The report for the fourth indicates that 63.6% of homes in the Bremerton/Silverdale MSA were affordable for the median income family. They report that the median income was $70,900 per year and the median home price was $232,000.

Conclusion: Inventories of foreclosures and bank owned homes in Kitsap County will continue to be the major influence on price. We are likely to see an increasing supply of Other Real Estate Owned (OREO) clogging up bank balance sheets and housing inventory for the foreseeable future.

But what will the market bottom look like? Many experts agree that the market top probably occurred in late 2006 or early 2007. Things still felt pretty hot with multiple offers on many properties and sellers were still pretty smug. It was several months after the peak before the majority of people really felt it. Could we be at a market bottom now or soon?

Absorption of space up to October of 2008 was acceptable but there is anecdotal evidence that everything halted severely after that. New construction plans have been put on hold indefinitely and a number of largely vacant buildings have been put up for sale. Landlords can expect to lose existing tenants more than gain and should look to manage their properties well until some sort of a turnaround.

The much beloved Natural Health Food Store has moved to the Westbay Center in downtown Port Orchard. For the past 27 years owner Patricia Anderson has helped thousands of South Kitsap residents with education and products to improve their health through good eating habits. The new store location is 1341 Bay Street, Suite A and [...]

Year to year comparisons of home sales in Kitsap County continue to broadcast bad news. The NWMLS statistics report for October 2008 indicate a significant drop in volume of residential sales from 2,836 units sold (10/2007 YTD) to 2,148 (10/2008 YTD), a 24%+ decline. This is what I call a deep background picture. But how [...]