market summary

i've been trolling for some cheerful real estate news for the holiday season but have not gotten any serious strikes. some seemingly positive news is reflected in an increase in activity in the $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 residential price range, a range that has heretofore been languishing. as of 12/08/09 the percent of listings "under contract" in that price range was 17.65%, more than triple the 5.26% from the prior month. for calendar 2009 prior to december the percentage has ranged from a low of 3.13% to a high of 8.33%, so we've more than doubled the previous best monthly percentage year-to-date in that residential price range. the number of residential listings on the island was 218 as of december 8, 2009 versus 247 as of november 5, 2009. at 190, the number of residential sales on the island year-to-date through november 30, 2009 was up nearly 10% over the 174 year-to-date residential sales through november 30, 2008. the average residential selling price on the other hand fell nearly 9% from 2007 to 2008 and is on track to fall nearly 11% from 2008 to 2009.       

as of december 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 - 43/227 = 0.19          (up from 0.16 as of november 15, 2009)

condominium - 8/91 = 0.09         (down from 0.10 as of november 15, 2009)

land - 3/71 = 0.04                      (down from 0.06 as of november 15, 2009)

this statistic is an attempt to capture a glimpse of more current market activity rather than having to extrapolate historical sales data.  i also have these stats available historically as well as for various price ranges within each property category. while the month-over-month increase for this statistic in the residential category would appear to be positive news, the increase was driven more by a reduction in the denominator of the ratio (the number of "current residential listings") than an increase in the numerator or a combination thereof. 

new web site search functions - sold listings

i have added some new simplified property search functions to my web site.  in addition to being able to search all bi property listings by property category, all bi home listings by price range, all bi property listings by neighborhood, all bi property listings by address or mls number, all bi public open houses scheduled for the coming weekend, and all bi properties newly listed within the past 24 hours, now you can easily search recent bainbridge island home sales by price range and recent bainbridge island property sales by property category (for example, recent bainbridge island waterfront home sales, or recent bainbridge island land sales).

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://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

please feel free to check out some of my blog posts at http://bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/blog  the latest posts summarize 1) how more homeowners are either falling behind on there mortgages or owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth and 2) the recently proposed federal plan for standardizing the short sale process.