Aug 30 2010
Gig Harbor straddles areas poised for housing growth
Gig Harbor straddles areas poised for housing growth
Before I get to my headline…
Next week I will report on August figures for Gig Harbor home sales which appear to be an improvement over July’s anemic closings. We are set to close on target or better than 2009, with pending sales starting to flow as well. Sales include a couple more closings over 1m.
Sellers are in lock-step with nation-wide economic news though, as over 250 residences were reduced in price during the month. More next week…
Now for some good local news…
Often Gig Harbor home sales do not follow county or regional trends. While July figures were down throughout the region and Gig Harbor, inventory did not build in Gig Harbor as in other areas.
And for some even better local news…
Washington State–specifically Tacoma and Bremerton-Silverdale–are poised to have some of the strongest housing markets by 2014. Earlier this month Businessweek.com released a forecast of the U. S housing market, prepared by Moody’s Economy.com and the information firm Fiserv.
Bremerton-Silverdale housing prices are expected to increase 44.7% over the next four years or 9.7% annually. The area has experienced a 20% drop from the 2007 boom year. The area’s heavy military presence has kept unemployment at 7.2%, compared to 9.5% nationally, and only a fraction higher than last year. Median family income is $69,900.
The area attracts buyers looking to live close to Seattle at a lower cost in a great natural setting. The same thing can be said of Tacoma, which the study predicts will be Washington’s second strongest market with a 33.1% price gain. 15% of that is predicted to occur by 1st quarter 2012. Tacoma’s median family income is a tad lower than Bremerton at $66,200.
Gig Harbor is blessed to be straddling these two metro areas, offering some of the best schools, great parks and recreation, panoramic views, proximity to Seattle and probably the most picturesque small waterfront city in the Northwest.
Housing supply and demand in Washington, Oregon, New Mexico and Utah are in balance, according to the research, and are most likely to be undersupplied in another two years.
Carole Holmaas is a Broker with Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1968. She specialized is waterfront and view properties and may be reached at 253.549.6611 or at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com