Charlie Arthur, CCIM

The Port of Port Townsend is located on the northeast corner of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, one of the nation's best maritime destinations.

In 1792, Captain George Vancouver sailed his ship, the HMS Discovery inland from Cape Flattery, putting into Discovery Bay for repairs. While in the area, he observed what his log describes as a "very safe and capacious harbour," which he named Port Townsend in honor of his friend, the first Marquis of Townshend.

Almost sixty years later the first settlers, Alfred Plummer and Charles Bachelder arrived and built a log cabin at what is now the corner of Water and Tyler Streets. On April 24, 1851, Port Townsend filed as the Puget Sound's second city, after Olympia and six months before Seattle. From its beginnings as a logging and farming town, Port Townsend quickly entered the seafaring world as its first major commercial enterprise. Only three years after its founding, the town became the headquarters of the Puget Sound Customs District. From its small beginnings, Port Townsend became a thriving international seaport with a reputation as notorious as San Francisco's Barbary Coast.

For a time, about half the ships that came into the Puget Sound picked up their crews in Port Townsend. Since there were not enough men in town willing to go to sea for extended periods, shanghaiing became a business staple. Saloons, brothels, and gambling halls were accepted as a necessary, if regrettable, feature of the thriving maritime economy. To insulate their families from the rough-and-tumble downtown, the wealthier citizens developed a commercial "uptown" district on the bluff above Water Street...away from the sailors, gamblers, "fancy ladies" and other "lower" elements down on the bay's shores.

As the non-seafaring population increased, Port Townsend reached a tentative agreement with the Oregon Improvement Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, to route its line from the Columbia River to Port Townsend. The speculation boom was on and population quickly doubled in anticipation of a golden future. Property values skyrocketed and business flourished. At the end of 1890, however, the railroad announced that it would terminate in Seattle, and the City of Dreams very quickly went into an economic tailspin.

The construction of a pulp and paper mill in 1927 helped Port Townsend recover and remain viable through the Great Depression. Today the Port Townsend Paper remains the largest single employer in Jefferson County.

What a great time to look for Port Townsend Real estate. We have so much to choose from right now and prices are great. Financing is still very affordable. We have a surplus of lots right now and you can now buy a turn key lot in town for around 40,000. all utilities to the site, curbs sidewalks and gutters all installed. close to shopping, hospital, schools, etc.

You Can—And Should—Check Your Credit Profile For Free December 22, 2009 By Sandra Block Savvy consumers view offers for “free” products with the same skepticism reserved for weight-loss pills, work-at-home opportunities and spray-on hair. This caution is usually justified, particularly when it comes to credit reports. Some companies use the offer of a “free” credit report or score to sell expensive credit-monitoring or other subscription services. The best-known example: FreeCreditReport.com, the subject of entertaining commercials featuring scruffy losers with bad credit. Since 2005, Experian, which owns FreeCreditReport.com, has paid the Federal Trade Commission $1.25 million to settle charges that its ads were misleading. In recent months, though, several companies have launched websites that provide a credit profile at no cost. The score you’ll get from these sites is not the widely used FICO score that lenders use when you apply for a mortgage, credit card or car loan. But if you’re simply looking to improve your credit standing in 2010, these sites provide a useful snapshot of where you stand. None of the websites mentioned here require you to enter a credit card number, which means you don’t have to worry about finding surprise charges on your credit card bill. They rely on advertising for revenue, so be prepared to see a lot of ads for credit cards, mortgages and other products. Here’s what we found in our test drive of the free sites: *Credit Karma (creditkarma.com). This site offers a score based on information provided by TrueCredit, a division of TransUnion. This is not the same as a FICO score, but Credit Karma will give you an idea of whether lenders consider you an excellent, average or poor risk. You’ll also get a report card grading different components of your score, such as your payment history. You can update your score as often as you want. If you’re working to raise your score, this will help you gauge your progress. Credit Karma CEO Ken Lin recommends checking for updates once a month. Another helpful feature on this site is the “credit simulator,” which shows how various financial transactions would affect your credit. This is a useful tool if you’re planning to apply for a mortgage and don’t want to do anything that would hurt your score. *Quizzle (quizzle.com). Quizzle’s score is based on information from Experian, and when you sign up, you’ll also get a copy of your Experian credit report. Quizzle subscribers are eligible for an updated Experian credit report and Quizzle score every six months. More frequent updates cost $7. Quizzle gives you grades in several categories, such as your mortgage, budget and rainy day fund. You’ll receive an analysis of each category, along with suggestions on how to raise your grade. You’ll also receive an overall score based on a scale of 1-100. Unlike the other free sites we tested, you don’t have to type in your Social Security number. Quizzle uses information you provide and asks targeted questions to locate your credit report, says Todd Albery, CEO of Quizzle. However, if the information you provide delivers more than one credit-report match—which might happen if you have a common name—you may be asked to provide a Social Security number, Albery says. Along with your credit report, you’ll get an analysis of your home value and your mortgage. Quizzle is a subsidiary of Rock Holdings, which also owns mortgage lender Quicken Loans. *Credit.com. This site’s Credit Report Card tells you whether your score is bad, poor, fair, good or excellent, and how that translates into an actual credit score. For example, an “excellent” rating would mean a FICO score of 750-850. You’ll also get a grade for components of your credit score. You can update your credit report card every 30 days. Credit.com uses information from TransUnion. This site does a good job of breaking down the information used to develop each of your grades. For example, under “payment history,” you’ll get a rundown of how many late payments appear on your credit report. While credit scores and snapshots are useful tools, you should periodically review your actual credit reports for errors that could hurt your score. You can get all three of your credit reports at no cost at AnnualCreditReport.com. The credit bureaus are required by law to provide you with a free credit report every 12 months through this website. To suggest columns, e-mail: sblock@usatoday.com. Follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sandyblock. (c) Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. Source: USA TODAY Publication date: 2009-12-22

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have questions about the real estate market in Jefferson, Clallam or Kitsap Counties I'm only a phone call or email away. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and have been selling real estate for 12+ years. My office is located in the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. Port Townsend is an vibrant, eclectic and small community on the NE tip of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Only 1.5 to 2 hours from SEATAC airport you are only a couple of hours from flying anywhere in the world. Located in a rainshadow created(so I'm told) by the Olympic Mountains, our little village gets just 15-18 inches of precipitation per year

Housing: Undervalued and Stuck There

December 22, 2009

Wells Fargo & Co. economists wrote in a note to clients last week, "The calculus of homebuying and finance has changed," summing up succinctly something that's troubling housing experts all over the country.

Housing researcher Global Insight recently released a study of U.S. housing prices that points to the magnitude of the collapse of values. 

Nationwide, Global found housing values were about 10% undervalued, based on a model that examines interest rates, household incomes, population, and historical price patterns.

That's a modest number compared with metro areas hardest hit by the housing recession. 

In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Global calculated that housing prices were 24% undervalued as of the third quarter of 2009. Three years ago, it said the area was 44% overvalued. Global calculates that Las Vegas is now undervalued by 41% compared with being 33% overvalued in 2006.

The trillion-dollar question is: When will things turn around? As long as there is high unemployment and tight credit, many experts believe it won't be anytime soon.

Source: Reuters News, Emily Kaiser (12/20/2009)

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have questions about the real estate market in Jefferson, Clallam or Kitsap Counties I'm only a phone call or email away. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and have been selling real estate for 12+ years. My office is located in the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. Port Townsend is an vibrant, eclectic and small community on the NE tip of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Only 1.5 to 2 hours from SEATAC airport you are only a couple of hours from flying anywhere in the world. Located in a rainshadow created(so I'm told) by the Olympic Mountains, our little village gets just 15-18 inches of precipitation per year.

Best Place to Live 2009 Port Townsend Washington Port Townsend, WA, 98368 was voted by me as THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE in 2009. Home prices are down to a more affordable level. Crime is low. Happiness is up. Rainfall is low. 2 mountain ranges to view. 2 major peaks to see, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker. Locals are friendly and considerate. Traffic congestion is non-existent. I couldn't think of a better place to live. So I convened my panel of experts...me, myself and I and after careful deliberation, research and insight...we chose Port Townsend and THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE for 2009. In fact, we couldn't find any other locations worth putting on the list. Check back next year to see if the list has expanded. Due to budgetary constraints we had to keep our research down to one town. Next year we are hoping to have a travel budget and actually look at more than one place, but until then...PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON IS THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE FOR 2009!!