market summary

while the residential listing inventory level on the island continues its normal seasonal buildup, the number of residential listings as of may 5, 2009 was 250, 5.6% below the 264 listings as of may 12, 2008. the number of residential units sold year-to-date through may 5, 2009 trailed year-to-date 2008, which was no banner year, by over 11%. there are buyers out there circling but they seem to be more focused on finding the elusive "double bottom"; balancing the generally inverse relationship between falling real estate prices, and that "bottom", on the one hand with the rising and ever-changing cost and availability of real estate financing opportunities, and that "bottom", on the other hand. all in all, it continues to be just a really weird market with no apparent rhyme or reason as to what properties are actually selling or why or at what price. 

following is another statistic that may be of interest, the ratio of currently "under contract listings" to the total number of "current listing" (an "under contract listings"/"current listings" ratio) in each of three categories: residential, condominium, and land.  this statistic is an attempt to capture a glimpse of more current market activity rather than having to extrapolate from historical data.  i also have these stats available historically as well as for various price ranges within each property category.  please let me know if you find it helpful. i'm finding this statistic helpful and useful and it will be interesting to monitor the composition of the "under contract listings"  over time in light of the fact that an ever increasing percentage (over 20% as of may 15, 2009) of listings in this category are short sales, bank-owned properties, or third party approval required properties and there are no good data available to date regarding how may of these short, bank-owned, or third party approval required properties actually make it from "under contract listings" to "sold."

as of may 15, 2009 - number of current bainbridge island "under contract listings" divided by the total number of "current listings" on bainbridge island for each property category.

residential - 32/272 = 0.12

condominium - 10/115 = 0.09

land - 2/82 = 0.02

more "real time" bainbridge island real estate market information

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 as follows:

• click the following link: http://www.bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/
• 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.)
• 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 "search all bi properties by category" text link in the left hand column
• enter the property search parameters (price range, property type, price display order, etc.) of your choice (for bainbridge island enter 98110 in the zip code box)
• click the "start search" button
• click the blue "save search" button
• give the search a title of your choice
• indicate "instant" or "nightly" email notification schedule by clicking the appropriate "circle"
• 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 can also refine, edit, or delete your searches or change your email notification schedule from this page.  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 few with links to articles in the on-line editions of the new york times, the seattle times, and the wall street journal on the subjects of when to use a mortgage broker, tax hits on property short sales, putting instant value into the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit, and a particularly interesting article on the subject of homes of the future...small is beautiful! 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.