So, what is the implication for Kitsap real estate and the state within which it is located? Here are some real estate facts recently issued by the Washington State Association of Realtors:

”

LOW FORECLOSURE RATE

Foreclosure rates today are the same as they were ten years ago. Fewer than one percent of mortgages end in default in Washington state. As of mid-June, adjustable rate loans represented 20 percent of loans nationally, but just 6 percent of home loans in Washington.

STRONG MARKET
Home appreciation in Washington continues to out-perform the rest of nation with regular price increases every quarter since the spring of 1995. Real estate has been, and will continue to be, stable long-term investments.

STABLE INVENTORY

The key to stability in the residential real estate market is balance – a six month supply of homes available on the market at any given time.

WHY WASHINGTON IS DIFFERENT

The home market is not keeping pace with the growth of the state’s population. The state’s population is projected to increase by nearly one million over the present decade and reach 6.8 million residents by 2010. Most growth occurs from within the state – not new residents relocating from other states.”

Buyers need not fear plummeting values if they buy today. Investors must move cautiously in the new market reality but opportunities abound for well constructed real estate investing.

Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market? Compared to the torrid
pace of 2005-2006 it has definitely moved toward the buyer’s position.
But wait, this article says that Kitsap Couunty real estate pricews
moved up 10%, year to year, from 2006 to 2007. Is that really a
“buyer’s market?. What do you think?

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New homes in Port Orchard are perhaps the most exciting opportunity for first time and move up buyers throughout the entire Puget Sound region.

Port Orchard real estate also known as South Kitsap real estate will likely be the focus for a number of major regional and national builders for quite awhile.

Take D.R. Horton, Quadrant Corporation and and Chaffey Homes for instance. They have tied up thousands of acres of Kitsap County real estate land with potentially more than 10,000 new home sites in an area that will be easily accessed from the I-5 corridor over the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge scheduled for completion later in 2007.

Greater Port Orchard also known as South Kitsap county is home to some 140,000 residents from the Pierce and Mason counties borders up to Gorst. In spring of 2007 there were approximately 164 new homes on the market immediately available for purchase with another 104 under contract.

Inthe last six months from roughly November 2006 through April 2007 217 new homes were sold at an average sold to list ratio of 100.3%.

Smaller builders offer very attractive semi-custom and custom home options on rural lots or in-fill lots that the larger homebuilders cannot manuever efficiently. Homes from these builders tend to be larger with larger lot sizes and are typically in-fill developments.

The larger builders have price on their side because they are often vertically integrated companies with resources from standing timber to the finished home and can slice a bit of the margin here and a bit of the margin there for impressive value delivered in large volumes.

Know your stats. That is the only way to have the knowledge to negotiate the right price for your new homes in Port Orchard.