Carole's Blog

Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months

At least four major statistics show a turn-around in Gig Harbor home sales, including sales prices.

 

• October is the fifth month in the past six showing home sales better than 2008, equaling September and a 15% increase over last October.

  

• Year-to-date prices have slipped only 6% for Gig Harbor home sales but 11% for Key Peninsula. This is slowing the double digit downward spiral that has occurred over the last four quarters and is a positive sign of market stabilization.

 

• Absorption rate, or the number of months supply of homes, has changed dramatically in some price ranges. A neutral market-or one in equilibrium--is five to six months of listings, based on the number of sales the past month. Anything fewer and the market is considered a seller's market--above a buyer's market.  In Key Peninsula the price ranges of $250-350,000 and $450-550,000 are now in the category of a seller's market. In Gig Harbor home sales nothing qualifies as a seller's market but $350-450,000 and $600-650,000 price ranges are in "neutral market" territory. These ranges will change from week to week but we have seen steadying in more price categories. Currently at $800,000 and above there are four homes under contract and one closed sale-but 148 on the market.

                          

          

	Gig Harbor	Gig Harbor	Gig Harbor		Key Peninsula	Key Peninsula	Key Peninsula
	Oct 2009	Sep 2009	Oct 2008		Oct 2009	Sept 2009	Oct 2008
# Sold	50	49	41		23	25	21
Sales Price	377,250	362,000	417000		252,250	191,000	337,000
YTD Price Change	▼6%				▼11%
# On Market	615	695	750		186	200	215
Absorption	12 mo	14 mo	20 mo		8 mo	8 mo	10 mo
Market Time	128	182	210		139	172	186
LP/SP Ratio	96%	96%	93.6%		94%	97.25%	95.5%
Pending	75				30

Here is a smattering of other market tidbits

• 31% of listed homes in Gig Harbor are vacant-40% in Key Peninsula.
• 22 homes flipped from pending status to active in October-half the number that flipped in third quarter. Many of these stem from financing issues or short sale procedures.
• Seattle has the highest rate of commercial real estate (new construction, subdivisions) in default in the nation-31% of all loans.

 

Gig Harbor home sales-and prices--should continue to firm up over fall and winter, with legislation just signed into law that extends the first-time homebuyer $8000 tax credit as well as expanding the program to give a $6500 credit to owners living in their home for the past five years. I can see price pockets during the next two to three quarters where demand equals the supply, which serves to increase the median price.

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com or 253.549.6611. Her real estate blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

 

 

Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months

At least four major statistics show a turn-around in Gig Harbor home sales, including sales prices.

 

• October is the fifth month in the past six showing home sales better than 2008, equaling September and a 15% increase over last October.

  

• Year-to-date prices have slipped only 6% for Gig Harbor home sales but 11% for Key Peninsula. This is slowing the double digit downward spiral that has occurred over the last four quarters and is a positive sign of market stabilization.

 

• Absorption rate, or the number of months supply of homes, has changed dramatically in some price ranges. A neutral market-or one in equilibrium--is five to six months of listings, based on the number of sales the past month. Anything fewer and the market is considered a seller's market--above a buyer's market.  In Key Peninsula the price ranges of $250-350,000 and $450-550,000 are now in the category of a seller's market. In Gig Harbor home sales nothing qualifies as a seller's market but $350-450,000 and $600-650,000 price ranges are in "neutral market" territory. These ranges will change from week to week but we have seen steadying in more price categories. Currently at $800,000 and above there are four homes under contract and one closed sale-but 148 on the market.

                          

          

	Gig Harbor	Gig Harbor	Gig Harbor		Key Peninsula	Key Peninsula	Key Peninsula
	Oct 2009	Sep 2009	Oct 2008		Oct 2009	Sept 2009	Oct 2008
# Sold	50	49	41		23	25	21
Sales Price	377,250	362,000	417000		252,250	191,000	337,000
YTD Price Change	▼6%				▼11%
# On Market	615	695	750		186	200	215
Absorption	12 mo	14 mo	20 mo		8 mo	8 mo	10 mo
Market Time	128	182	210		139	172	186
LP/SP Ratio	96%	96%	93.6%		94%	97.25%	95.5%
Pending	75				30

Here is a smattering of other market tidbits

• 31% of listed homes in Gig Harbor are vacant-40% in Key Peninsula.
• 22 homes flipped from pending status to active in October-half the number that flipped in third quarter. Many of these stem from financing issues or short sale procedures.
• Seattle has the highest rate of commercial real estate (new construction, subdivisions) in default in the nation-31% of all loans.

 

Gig Harbor home sales-and prices--should continue to firm up over fall and winter, with legislation just signed into law that extends the first-time homebuyer $8000 tax credit as well as expanding the program to give a $6500 credit to owners living in their home for the past five years. I can see price pockets during the next two to three quarters where demand equals the supply, which serves to increase the median price.

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com or 253.549.6611. Her real estate blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

 

 

Gig Harbor home sales up 5 of last 6 months At least four major statistics show a turn-around in Gig Harbor home sales, including sales prices. October is the fifth month in the past six showing home sales better than 2008, equaling September and a 15% increase over last October. Year-to-date prices have slipped only 6% for Gig Harbor home sales but 11% for Key Peninsula. This is slowing the double digit downward spiral that has occurred over the last four quarters and is a positive sign of market stabilization. Absorption rate, or the number of months supply of homes, has changed dramatically in some price ranges. A neutral market-or one in equilibrium--is five to six months of listings, based on the number of sales the past month. Anything fewer and the market is considered a seller's market--above a buyer's market.  In Key Peninsula the price ranges of $250-350,000 and $450-550,000 are now in the category of a seller's market. In Gig Harbor home sales nothing qualifies as a seller's market but $350-450,000 and $600-650,000 price ranges are in "neutral market" territory. These ranges will change from week to week but we have seen steadying in more price categories. Currently at $800,000 and above there are four homes under contract and one closed sale-but 148 on the market.

	Gig Harbor	Gig Harbor	Gig Harbor		Key Peninsula	Key Peninsula	Key Peninsula
	Oct 2009	Sep 2009	Oct 2008		Oct 2009	Sept 2009	Oct 2008
# Sold	50	49	41		23	25	21
Sales Price	377,250	362,000	417000		252,250	191,000	337,000
YTD Price Change	â–¼6%				â–¼11%
# On Market	615	695	750		186	200	215
Absorption	12 mo	14 mo	20 mo		8 mo	8 mo	10 mo
Market Time	128	182	210		139	172	186
LP/SP Ratio	96%	96%	93.6%		94%	97.25%	95.5%
Pending	75				30

Here is a smattering of other market tidbits 31% of listed homes in Gig Harbor are vacant-40% in Key Peninsula. 22 homes flipped from pending status to active in October-half the number that flipped in third quarter. Many of these stem from financing issues or short sale procedures. Seattle has the highest rate of commercial real estate (new construction, subdivisions) in default in the nation-31% of all loans. Gig Harbor home sales-and prices--should continue to firm up over fall and winter, with legislation just signed into law that extends the first-time homebuyer $8000 tax credit as well as expanding the program to give a $6500 credit to owners living in their home for the past five years. I can see price pockets during the next two to three quarters where demand equals the supply, which serves to increase the median price. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com or 253.549.6611. Her real estate blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008 Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far better note that it started.  And sales through the end of October have actually tied with year-end of 2008. If all 15 homes that are pending close, the year will end down only 15% from 2006 and 2007. Inventory has plummeted since April. Following the subprime lending news in September and October last year, inventory of Gig Harbor waterfront skyrocketed and sales were non-existent. November through April ran a steady 9-10 year supply of waterfront properties with a nominal single property closing each of those months. May through July saw the inventory absorbed, with 12 homes closing escrow in July. July's closings swept away a lot of Gig Harbor waterfront inventory and it continued momentum, creating 21 new pendings. October has also produced two pendings on properties listed over $1million. Prices on high end homes are still trending downward. But sellers have become savvy in pricing their homes and September closings of Gig Harbor waterfront showed transactions closed at an average of 91% of the original list price. This is far better than the 78-84% differential experienced most of this year. Cash buyers have leveraged their cash and felt confident the "bottom of the market" was nearing. They purchased some great properties in the past few months-for as much as a 30% discount. Approximately 30% of homes sold in the first month of listing and over 34% sold after more than four months, the balance falling between one and four months. In September I commented the overall median price for all Gig Harbor waterfront properties this year would likely be $100,000 less than 2008, which was $800,000. That appears to still be the case with the median sales price at $690,000 year-to-date. The table shows the activity and prices in each of the areas thus far this year. It is notable that two areas-Wollochet/Cromwell and Horsehead/Arletta are experiencing sales prices very close to their median list price. Wauna and Key Peninsula are two other areas selling quite close to the list price

Area	On Market	Pending	Sold	Median List Price	Median Sale Price
Gig Harbor Bay	13	3	4	$1,300,000	$953,000
Wauna	3	0	2	$700,000	$575,000
Rosedale	5	0	2	$1,295,000	$512,000
Key Peninsula So	14	2	7	$537,000	$480,000
Fox Island	23	1	7	$1,100,000	$690,000
Wollochet/Cromwell	19	2	10	$1,000,000	$1,055,000
Horsehead/Arletta	39	4	4	$1,075,000	$1,055,000
Gig Harbor No	4	1	0	$714,000	no sale
Key Peninsula No	12 Total  132	2 Total 15	4 Total 40	$785,000 All Areas $946,000	$556,000 All Areas $693,000

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967, specializing in waterfront and view properties. She can be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Comment on her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008

Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far better note that it started.  And sales through the end of October have actually tied with year-end of 2008. If all 15 homes that are pending close, the year will end down only 15% from 2006 and 2007.

Inventory has plummeted since April. Following the subprime lending news in September and October last year, inventory of Gig Harbor waterfront skyrocketed and sales were non-existent. November through April ran a steady 9-10 year supply of waterfront properties with a nominal single property closing each of those months. May through July saw the inventory absorbed, with 12 homes closing escrow in July.

July's closings swept away a lot of Gig Harbor waterfront inventory and it continued momentum, creating 21 new pendings. October has also produced two pendings on properties listed over $1million.

Prices on high end homes are still trending downward. But sellers have become savvy in pricing their homes and September closings of Gig Harbor waterfront showed transactions closed at an average of 91% of the original list price. This is far better than the 78-84% differential experienced most of this year. Cash buyers have leveraged their cash and felt confident the "bottom of the market" was nearing. They purchased some great properties in the past few months-for as much as a 30% discount.

Approximately 30% of homes sold in the first month of listing and over 34% sold after more than four months, the balance falling between one and four months.

In September I commented the overall median price for all Gig Harbor waterfront properties this year would likely be $100,000 less than 2008, which was $800,000. That appears to still be the case with the median sales price at $690,000 year-to-date.

The table shows the activity and prices in each of the areas thus far this year. It is notable that two areas-Wollochet/Cromwell and Horsehead/Arletta are experiencing sales prices very close to their median list price. Wauna and Key Peninsula are two other areas selling quite close to the list price 

 

Area	On Market	Pending	Sold	Median List Price	Median Sale Price
Gig Harbor Bay	13	3	4	$1,300,000	$953,000
Wauna	3	0	2	$700,000	$575,000
Rosedale	5	0	2	$1,295,000	$512,000
Key Peninsula So	14	2	7	$537,000	$480,000
Fox Island	23	1	7	$1,100,000	$690,000
Wollochet/Cromwell	19	2	10	$1,000,000	$1,055,000
Horsehead/Arletta	39	4	4	$1,075,000	$1,055,000
Gig Harbor No	4	1	0	$714,000	no sale
Key Peninsula No	12 Total  132	2   Total 15	4 Total 40	$785,000 All Areas $946,000	$556,000 All Areas $693,000

                                                            

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967, specializing in waterfront and view properties. She can be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Comment on her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

 

Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008

Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far better note that it started.  And sales through the end of October have actually tied with year-end of 2008. If all 15 homes that are pending close, the year will end down only 15% from 2006 and 2007.

Inventory has plummeted since April. Following the subprime lending news in September and October last year, inventory of Gig Harbor waterfront skyrocketed and sales were non-existent. November through April ran a steady 9-10 year supply of waterfront properties with a nominal single property closing each of those months. May through July saw the inventory absorbed, with 12 homes closing escrow in July.

July's closings swept away a lot of Gig Harbor waterfront inventory and it continued momentum, creating 21 new pendings. October has also produced two pendings on properties listed over $1million.

Prices on high end homes are still trending downward. But sellers have become savvy in pricing their homes and September closings of Gig Harbor waterfront showed transactions closed at an average of 91% of the original list price. This is far better than the 78-84% differential experienced most of this year. Cash buyers have leveraged their cash and felt confident the "bottom of the market" was nearing. They purchased some great properties in the past few months-for as much as a 30% discount.

Approximately 30% of homes sold in the first month of listing and over 34% sold after more than four months, the balance falling between one and four months.

In September I commented the overall median price for all Gig Harbor waterfront properties this year would likely be $100,000 less than 2008, which was $800,000. That appears to still be the case with the median sales price at $690,000 year-to-date.

The table shows the activity and prices in each of the areas thus far this year. It is notable that two areas-Wollochet/Cromwell and Horsehead/Arletta are experiencing sales prices very close to their median list price. Wauna and Key Peninsula are two other areas selling quite close to the list price 

 

Area	On Market	Pending	Sold	Median List Price	Median Sale Price
Gig Harbor Bay	13	3	4	$1,300,000	$953,000
Wauna	3	0	2	$700,000	$575,000
Rosedale	5	0	2	$1,295,000	$512,000
Key Peninsula So	14	2	7	$537,000	$480,000
Fox Island	23	1	7	$1,100,000	$690,000
Wollochet/Cromwell	19	2	10	$1,000,000	$1,055,000
Horsehead/Arletta	39	4	4	$1,075,000	$1,055,000
Gig Harbor No	4	1	0	$714,000	no sale
Key Peninsula No	12 Total  132	2   Total 15	4 Total 40	$785,000 All Areas $946,000	$556,000 All Areas $693,000

                                                            

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967, specializing in waterfront and view properties. She can be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Comment on her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

 

Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008

Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far better note that it started.  And sales through the end of October have actually tied with year-end of 2008. If all 15 homes that are pending close, the year will end down only 15% from 2006 and 2007.

Inventory has plummeted since April. Following the subprime lending news in September and October last year, inventory of Gig Harbor waterfront skyrocketed and sales were non-existent. November through April ran a steady 9-10 year supply of waterfront properties with a nominal single property closing each of those months. May through July saw the inventory absorbed, with 12 homes closing escrow in July.

July's closings swept away a lot of Gig Harbor waterfront inventory and it continued momentum, creating 21 new pendings. October has also produced two pendings on properties listed over $1million.

Prices on high end homes are still trending downward. But sellers have become savvy in pricing their homes and September closings of Gig Harbor waterfront showed transactions closed at an average of 91% of the original list price. This is far better than the 78-84% differential experienced most of this year. Cash buyers have leveraged their cash and felt confident the "bottom of the market" was nearing. They purchased some great properties in the past few months-for as much as a 30% discount.

Approximately 30% of homes sold in the first month of listing and over 34% sold after more than four months, the balance falling between one and four months.

In September I commented the overall median price for all Gig Harbor waterfront properties this year would likely be $100,000 less than 2008, which was $800,000. That appears to still be the case with the median sales price at $690,000 year-to-date.

The table shows the activity and prices in each of the areas thus far this year. It is notable that two areas-Wollochet/Cromwell and Horsehead/Arletta are experiencing sales prices very close to their median list price. Wauna and Key Peninsula are two other areas selling quite close to the list price 

 

Area	On Market	Pending	Sold	Median List Price	Median Sale Price
Gig Harbor Bay	13	3	4	$1,300,000	$953,000
Wauna	3	0	2	$700,000	$575,000
Rosedale	5	0	2	$1,295,000	$512,000
Key Peninsula So	14	2	7	$537,000	$480,000
Fox Island	23	1	7	$1,100,000	$690,000
Wollochet/Cromwell	19	2	10	$1,000,000	$1,055,000
Horsehead/Arletta	39	4	4	$1,075,000	$1,055,000
Gig Harbor No	4	1	0	$714,000	no sale
Key Peninsula No	12 Total  132	2   Total 15	4 Total 40	$785,000 All Areas $946,000	$556,000 All Areas $693,000

                                                            

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967, specializing in waterfront and view properties. She can be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Comment on her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

 

Gig Harbor waterfront sales will beat 2008 Waterfront buyers sat on the sidelines from November through March. But April, May and June produced an abundance of sales of Gig Harbor waterfront homes, closing in May through July to end summer on a far better note that it started.  And sales through the end of October have actually tied with year-end of 2008. If all 15 homes that are pending close, the year will end down only 15% from 2006 and 2007. Inventory has plummeted since April. Following the subprime lending news in September and October last year, inventory of Gig Harbor waterfront skyrocketed and sales were non-existent. November through April ran a steady 9-10 year supply of waterfront properties with a nominal single property closing each of those months. May through July saw the inventory absorbed, with 12 homes closing escrow in July. July's closings swept away a lot of Gig Harbor waterfront inventory and it continued momentum, creating 21 new pendings. October has also produced two pendings on properties listed over $1million. Prices on high end homes are still trending downward. But sellers have become savvy in pricing their homes and September closings of Gig Harbor waterfront showed transactions closed at an average of 91% of the original list price. This is far better than the 78-84% differential experienced most of this year. Cash buyers have leveraged their cash and felt confident the "bottom of the market" was nearing. They purchased some great properties in the past few months-for as much as a 30% discount. Approximately 30% of homes sold in the first month of listing and over 34% sold after more than four months, the balance falling between one and four months. In September I commented the overall median price for all Gig Harbor waterfront properties this year would likely be $100,000 less than 2008, which was $800,000. That appears to still be the case with the median sales price at $690,000 year-to-date. The table shows the activity and prices in each of the areas thus far this year. It is notable that two areas-Wollochet/Cromwell and Horsehead/Arletta are experiencing sales prices very close to their median list price. Wauna and Key Peninsula are two other areas selling quite close to the list price

Area	On Market	Pending	Sold	Median List Price	Median Sale Price
Gig Harbor Bay	13	3	4	$1,300,000	$953,000
Wauna	3	0	2	$700,000	$575,000
Rosedale	5	0	2	$1,295,000	$512,000
Key Peninsula So	14	2	7	$537,000	$480,000
Fox Island	23	1	7	$1,100,000	$690,000
Wollochet/Cromwell	19	2	10	$1,000,000	$1,055,000
Horsehead/Arletta	39	4	4	$1,075,000	$1,055,000
Gig Harbor No	4	1	0	$714,000	no sale
Key Peninsula No	12 Total  132	2 Total 15	4 Total 40	$785,000 All Areas $946,000	$556,000 All Areas $693,000

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker with Windermere Real Estate in Gig Harbor, licensed since 1967, specializing in waterfront and view properties. She can be reached at 253.549.6611 or Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com. Comment on her blog at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

Gig Harbor home sales start to equalize in Key Peninsula A snapshot of Gig Harbor home sales shows a nearly balanced market for Key Peninsula mailing addresses. Zip codes 98329 and 98394(Wauna, Vaughn and Key Center) have just slightly more than a seven month supply of homes in inventory. A balanced-or neutral market-is generally considered six to seven month home inventory, based on number of sales in that month. When the number drops below six months it generally becomes a seller's market. 6.3 months of inventory was normal in this area during the strong sales years of 2002-2007 so the current seven months supply is a very strong number. A high of 40 months was reached last January. Median prices are still dropping-over 10% in third quarter compared to the same period last year, with 15 closings-a high percentage of "bank-involved" sales pulling prices down. A perspective on prices over the past few years--the current median sales price--$209,000--equals first quarter 2005 when homes were selling for 99% of listed price. The median price will only increase when buyers have an appetite for something other than foreclosures and short sales and when consumer confidence is restored. Unfortunately, locally there are still many foreclosures in the pipeline. The zip codes of 98349 and 98351 (Longbranch, Lakebay and Home) have only an 8.9 month inventory of homes, based on the sales pace in September. This is looking positive for an area that experienced a 6.9 month supply of homes during the boom years of 2002-2005 but has been running double digits and a high of 49 months supply last November. The median sales price is down for third quarter by 15.4% representing 10 sales. In this area the median price has been "reset" to prices established the first nine months of 2005 when homes were selling for 98.5% of listed price. This table shows Key Peninsula zip codes 98329/98394 and 98349/98351 for Gig Harbor home sales for September 2009 and 2008.

Gig Harbor home sales	98329 & 98394	98349 & 98351
Number of active listings	▼29.5%	▼21.9%
Number of homes sold	▲50%	▲42.9%
Median sales price	▼ 10.7%	▼15.4%
(3rd Qtr comparison)	$209,000	$176,000
Number months inventory	▼53%	▼50%
(based on closed sales)	7.3 months	8.9 months

Readers must be careful not to read too much into a single month comparison but these figures are encouraging to local Realtors. The 17-month graphs below show the bigger picture in Gig Harbor home sales in these zip codes. With the median price hovering at and below $200,000, homes in these areas have been snapped up by first-time buyers as they receive the $8000 tax credit. This tax credit is expected to be extended. Month-to-month figures will continue to fluctuate as the market continues to stabilize. And expect inventory to climb as winter takes it toll on sales 98349 and 98351 98329 and 98394 Throughout the entire Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula market area, sales for October are on track to close higher numbers than last year. Several price ranges are showing the first signs of strength in a year, namely in the low $500's and the mid $400's and $600's. Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com or 253.549.6611. Her real estate blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com

Gig Harbor home sales start to equalize in Key Peninsula

A snapshot of Gig Harbor home sales shows a nearly balanced market for Key Peninsula mailing addresses. Zip codes 98329 and 98394(Wauna, Vaughn and Key Center) have just slightly more than a seven month supply of homes in inventory.

A balanced-or neutral market-is generally considered six to seven month home inventory, based on number of sales in that month. When the number drops below six months it generally becomes a seller's market.

6.3 months of inventory was normal in this area during the strong sales years of 2002-2007 so the current seven months supply is a very strong number. A high of 40 months was reached last January.

Median prices are still dropping-over 10% in third quarter compared to the same period last year, with 15 closings-a high percentage of "bank-involved" sales pulling prices down. A perspective on prices over the past few years--the current median sales price--$209,000--equals first quarter 2005 when homes were selling for 99% of listed price.

The median price will only increase when buyers have an appetite for something other than foreclosures and short sales and when consumer confidence is restored. Unfortunately, locally there are still many foreclosures in the pipeline.

The zip codes of 98349 and 98351 (Longbranch, Lakebay and Home) have only an 8.9 month inventory of homes, based on the sales pace in September. This is looking positive for an area that experienced a 6.9 month supply of homes during the boom years of 2002-2005 but has been running double digits and a high of 49 months supply last November.

The median sales price is down for third quarter by 15.4% representing 10 sales. In this area the median price has been "reset" to prices established the first nine months of 2005 when homes were selling for 98.5% of listed price.  

This table shows Key Peninsula zip codes 98329/98394 and 98349/98351 for Gig Harbor home sales for September 2009 and 2008.                                             

Gig Harbor home sales	98329 & 98394	98349 & 98351
Number of active listings	▼29.5%	▼21.9%
Number of homes sold	▲50%	▲42.9%
Median sales price	▼ 10.7%	▼15.4%
(3rd Qtr comparison)	$209,000	$176,000
Number months inventory	▼53%	▼50%
(based on closed sales)	7.3 months	8.9 months

Readers must be careful not to read too much into a single month comparison but these figures are encouraging to local Realtors. The 17-month graphs below show the bigger picture in Gig Harbor home sales in these zip codes. With the median price hovering at and below $200,000, homes in these areas have been snapped up by first-time buyers as they receive the $8000 tax credit. This tax credit is expected to be extended. Month-to-month figures will continue to fluctuate as the market continues to stabilize. And expect inventory to climb as winter takes it toll on sales

   98349 and 98351

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 98329 and 98394

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Throughout the entire Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula market area, sales for October are on track to close higher numbers than last year. Several price ranges are showing the first signs of strength in a year, namely in the low $500's and the mid $400's and $600's.

                                                                                                                                                     

Carole Holmaas is an Associate Broker at Windermere Real Estate, licensed since 1967. She may be reached at Carole@ISellGigHarbor.com or 253.549.6611. Her real estate blog may be read at http://blog.ISellGigHarbor.com