Investment Properties in Vancouver WA and the Economic Recovery

Investment Real Estate Purchase Opportunities Abound in Vancouver Washington in 2011

Many opinions are floating around these days about the Recovery we are now in; how fast it will take off; how fragile or durable it may be; and what real estate opportunities exist for the person looking to purchase a home to live in or to own as an investment property?

For the Vancouver Washington Real Estate Market, prices have Over-Corrected, to where we are now seeing price levels not seen since 2003 or earlier. The number of transactions for residential real estate (Vancouver houses and condos) has also dropped to levels not seen in at least five years.

OK, so what signs are we seeing that the Vancouver market is in recovery? Here are a few of today's observations:

1. The Clark County Population grew by about 15,000 in 2010, and the pace of new construction has been at a historically low level;
2. The Price Trend is soft near term, and Stronger in the positive direction going further out;
3. Investors are Extremely Active in the Vancouver Market Today.
4. Retirees have "Found" Vancouver as a great destination to relocate to.
5. First Time Buyers are still active and a strong segment without the Tax Credit incentive program.

The estimated population growth for Clark County was about 23% of the total estimated growth for Washington State. Several contributing factors we see why this area has such relative strength include: lower cost of living when compared to Seattle and Puget Sound; slightly more favorable climate; a rebounding economic base. This growth combined with a historically low level of new home construction could easily absorb any perceived excess inventory of homes.

The price trend in the last stage of any real estate cycle will almost always be in a soft and perhaps downward direction. This makes perfect sense as it takes sustained increases in demand relative to the supply to overcome the inertia in the price calculus. As you can see in the chart below the slope of the price trend for Vancouver and Clark County is less than that for nearby Portland and Seattle to the north. It is very likely that Vancouver and Clark County got hit sooner by the recession, and have been working through the excess longer and thus, positioning this market into the recovery phase sooner.

Example Vancouver WA Investment Real Estate Purchase in January 2011

The Vancouver home in the above photo was a VA Compromise Sale (VA's version of a short sale), and by VA rules required it to be Apprasied by an approved Appraiser, then sold at "market value." The investor acquired this 2005 home for $74 per sqft, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, nice fenced back yard backing to a Park. From another perspective, this home sold for 40% lower than its high-sales price in 2008.

This particular investment property (rental home) is already rented with very good positive cash flow. We also expect this investor to have minimal near term risk on the value of the asset decreasing; with substantial upside potential in the neighborhood purchased in.

What are the Prime Targets for the Real Estate Investor Today?

1. Bank Owned Homes - also known as REO's (Real Estate Owned), and Foreclosed Homes.
2. Short Sale Homes - also known as pre-foreclosures that are listed in the Vancouver MLS.
3. Multi-Family Homes - this includes Duplexes, Tri-plexes and Four-plexes.

All of the above targets have seen considerable activity in Vancouver and Clark County over the past year, and continues to be a key element in our local recovery.

If you have an interest in investing in the Vancouver Washington real estate market, we would love to hear from you!

Some of the places on our website you may get started with include:

• Bank Owned Homes in Vancouver Washington
• Short Sale Homes in Vancouver Washington
• Duplex and Multi-Family Properties in Vancouver Washington