how's the market? - march 2009
march 2009 bainbridge island real estate market statistics link: http://bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/index.cfm/page/53356/parent/15898/2009.html just scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the individual lines of text, each of which is a link.
on the supply side, on bainbridge island we are experiencing our usual springtime seasonality in the real estate market manifested as an increase in residential listings. on the demand side, we're experiencing a slight uptick in sales of single-family homes. there are buyers out there looking, but many seem to be "lookin' for the bottom" in terms of price and/or favorable financing and are hesitant to "pull the trigger." by the way, if anyone out there knows when that bottom was or will be, please let me know. as the "overview" statistics indicate, the majority of the sales activity in single-family residences on the island so far this year has been in the lower end of the market (under $700,000). one posited explanation for this observation is that currently the residential real estate market is financing driven. the conforming loan limit for primary residences on bainbridge island is currently transitioning from $417,000 to $475,000. conforming loans are much more readily available at attractive rates and terms and easier to qualify for than "jumbo loans", i. e. loans above the $417,000/$475,000 conforming loan limit. hence, homes in the under $700,000 price range, many of which could be financed with conforming loans, are experiencing greater activity than homes requiring jumbo loans. on bainbridge island the markets for condominium units and residential land continue to be much slower than the market for single family homes. one thing is clear. there has been a definite paradigm shift. for so many years buyers had to play in sellers' sand boxes, by sellers' rules. now buyers rule, and sellers have to play in buyers' sand boxes and conform to buyers' rules... or take there homes and go home.
while the bainbridge island real estate market statistics updated monthly on my website provide retro snapshots that over time reflect general market trends, they are historical and hence lag "real time."
if you'd like to receive daily email updates of current bainbridge island real estate activity in terms of new listings in a specified property profile (e. g., all waterfront homes, all homes in a specified price range, all condominiums, etc.) you can easily create a personal account and be notified of new listings daily by email. click the following link: http://www.bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/ and then click on the "click here to log in" text link in the "create an account" blue rectangular box in the left hand column, click the "click here to get started" text link, enter you personal profile information (name, email address, user name, password, etc.), then click the "create account" button at the bottom of the page and you're in. a gold horizontal bar should appear across the top of the page titled "welcome 'your name'". no, your account information will not be passed on to anyone else. to create a search, click on the "bainbridge island property search" text link in the left hand column, enter the property search parameters of your choice (for bainbridge island enter 98110 in the zip code box), click the "start search" button, click the "save search" button, then give the search a title of your choice, indicate "instant" or "nightly" email notification schedule, click the "save this search criteria" button and you're done. your search will be saved and can be accessed for editing or deletion by clicking on the "searches" text link on the gold horizontal bar at the top of the page that is titled "welcome 'your name'". you will be notified by email of any new listings that match your search parameters.
alternatively, if you prefer, email me with your interests or property profile parameters and i will set up an account for you with daily auto-email notification of new listings that match your search criteria.
blog posts
a number of real estate related blog posts this month: a couple with links to articles in the on-line editions of the seattle times and the wall street journal on the subjects of falling real estate prices and easing in the jumbo loan market, one describing how your home may qualify for bailout cash, and a post of a letter by windermere ceo, geoff woods, with some perspectives on what constitutes a neighborhood. feel free to check out these as well as some of my other blog posts at http://bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/blog
as always, if you know someone who you think may be interested in these statistics or blog posts please feel free to either forward this email or ask them to email me and i will add them to my email distribution list. likewise, if you would like me to remove you from my email distribution list please contact me.
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