Matt Thomson Gig Harbor, WA Real Estate & Relocation

I frequently get emails and phone calls from folks who are considering a move to the Gig Harbor area. One of the most common reservations is the weather. I can't begin to count the number of times I've heard, "Isn't it always rainy in Gig Harbor?" If by always you mean sometimes, or by rainy and gray you mean sunny and blue, then sure. Take the past 6 days, for example. Bright sunshine, blinding blue skies, and temps in the mid to high 50's. Gorgeous. Not normal, but gorgeous.

So what is normal? You can check here for statistics, but I prefer to go off of somebody's thoughts on it. July-September are incredible. Sunshine pretty much daily, temps in the 70's with the occasional 80's and very rare 90's. October-November you can feel it getting cooler, and some rain starts coming. December-February can be tough, as it does rain a lot and can be cold. Not like Minnesota cold, but 39 and raining isn't fun. Even during that stretch, though, we still have our famous "sun breaks," periods when the sun shines through for an hour or so. Then March-June are a complete crap shoot. Sometimes nice, sometimes cold and rainy. I don't think I've ever gone more than 2 days here without at least a few hours of sun, which is more than what I can say for when I lived in San Francisco. Even Santa Barbara had days when the fog hung around all day and lifted just in time for it to get dark. And LA? Shoot, the sun is so filtered through the smog I'd take our weather any day.

If you have ever thought of moving to the great Pacific Northwest, don't let the weather rumors stop you. Gortex you'll need, a sun-lamp you won't!

I need to stop getting so caught up in these online forums that I read. I just can't believe how negative some people are about everything. I'm not an outwardly giddy type of person, but some of these folks must just be miserable. I jumped into the online world with the idea of providing information about my community to those who may want to move here and to those who already love it here. I need to get back to that and away from arguing with folks about whether or not the economic sky is really falling. Let me make one quick point, then on to the title of this post. Real estate in Gig Harbor is not care free right now. We have seen our market slow considerably, our inventory rise, new construction is popping up all around and for the most part not selling, which makes resale homes tougher to sell. It's very likely we'll stay in this "slow" market for at least another year or two if not more. The average working folks can't afford the average priced house here with their average income. Homes simply aren't as affordable anymore. That being said, Gig Harbor's real estate market is WAY better off than the majority of the nation's, and more importantly, "What is your house...really?"

Is your house a short term investment? If so, you may be in some financial trouble. If your house is a long term investment, or (gasp) a HOME, then today's real estate market really isn't a concern of yours. I keep hearing the NAR get slammed for saying that now is a great time to buy. The argument I hear against that is that prices aren't at their lowest yet, the market is still falling. Am I the only one who is sitting shaking my head with my jaw dropped open when I hear that?

I can't imagine going to a financial planner, telling them I just got a job and am ready to open an IRA to prepare for my future, and having them tell me, "WAIT! The market may go down over the next year. Try to time the market and THEN you can invest." Or, maybe I want to open a college fund for my baby so I'll be ready in 18 years. "NO! Experts say the economy is weak and getting weaker. WAIT until it hits bottom THEN invest."

Those examples don't cut it for you? That's fine, they're not necessarily the same thing. So let's try these. My car dies, so I go to a car dealership to buy a new one. "NO, WAIT! We're having a huge sale in June. Don't buy now, wait til prices drop and THEN buy." Or maybe I'm going to Park City, UT, for a ski vacation and go to buy a new winter coat 'cause I don't need one here. "NO! Coats will go on sale once the weather warms up. Don't buy one now, you'll pay too much."

What am I getting at here? I want to know what your house is to you...really. My house falls into two categories. One, it's a long term investment. We bought the home in July of ‘07, and I can't imagine leaving before 5 years, and can easily see us here 10 or more years. Secondly, my house is a HOME. It's where I brought my daughter home for the first time. It's where my dog greets me when I come home each day. It's a big fenced yard where my dog runs and chases his toys while my baby giggles and screams at him. It's where I get to watch my wife make her incredible lasagna and really good, life-long friends sit and enjoy it and swap baby stories. It's where I sit right now, with a gorgeous view of the trees and blinding blue sky out my window while I get this rant off my chest. Do I care about it's value now compared to 6 months ago? Do you think I care that if I had only waited another 8 months and bought today rather than last summer I may have saved $15,000 (of course, somebody much smarter than I would have bought it in August and I would drive by each day realizing I gave up my dream home in an attempt to time the market). No, I don't care one bit about that. I'm also not even a little bit worried that in 5 or 10 years from now, my house won't have appreciated and I'll have lost money.

Listen, if you're a seller in today's market, it's going to be tough. Buyers have a lot to choose from, and more importantly, buyers are scared due to all the doom-sayers so they're just not buying as readily now. It doesn't mean you can't sell a home. It doesn't mean you're going to take a wash on your home. It means you need to get your home in perfect condition and price it right, probably lower than you want, probably lower than what many real estate agents will tell you, probably lower than you would have 6 months ago.

If you're looking to move to Gig Harbor, or you want a bigger house in Gig Harbor, or your current house on the Gig Harbor waterfront is too big and you're looking to downsize to a condo, or any number of other possibilities, it really IS a good time to buy. Why? Because you're ready. And because real estate in this area has always proven to be a good long term investment. And because renting a home, moving twice, and paying somebody else's mortgage doesn't sound fun to you. And because you want to make memories in YOUR home. I'm not saying that prices are at their lowest. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. I don't know what interest rates are going to do, or what the government is going to come up with. I know that I'm happy in my home. I'm glad I'm paying my mortgage and not somebody else's. I'm glad I feel proud that I'm a homeowner, and even though I can barely swing a hammer I could do whatever I wanted to this house to make it reflect me. If you're thinking of relocating to Gig Harbor, or any real estate deals are in your future, don't listen to the Chicken Littles of our society. Best not to listen to the scared real estate agents who are screaming everything is okay, either. Listen to your instincts, your intellect after you've done your homework, and a realistic Realtor, and make your own decision.

I'm curious...what is your house to you...really? Any fun stories or memories? Any horror stories of how it's cost you money or wasn't the home you thought it was? I'm just curious how others see their homes.

Are you thinking of moving to Gig Harbor? Maybe you're just visiting Gig Harbor and think touring some homes sounds like fun. Or maybe you're a Gig Harbor resident and you want to compare your home to other homes that are for sale in the area. Whatever the case, here is the list of this weekend's open houses.

Buying a home is a huge decision. You'll want to make sure that you have a professional in your corner who can help guide you along the way. I can help you with the purchase of any of these homes listed here, as well as any other house that you may wish to purchase. If you're looking to buy a home in Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Tacoma, or the surrounding areas, please give me a call.

This list of open houses is taken from the NWMLS. Information is reliable but not guaranteed. Some agents may forget to list their homes as open, so this list may not be exhaustive. Interesting to note that 15 of the 29 homes are listed by Keller Williams Real Estate. There are many possible reasons for this, but I believe that the training and continuing education that we offer our agents has made our office the premier listing office in the Puget Sound region. Sellers pay good commissions to real estate agents, and while there are good agents to be found at most offices, I truly believe that Keller Williams stands out as having the best prepared, most professional agents available to serve you.

I don't know why I get such a kick out of this photo, but it cracks me up. I was walking with Sebastian through Canterwood Golf and Country Club yesterday, and when I got about 20ft away, this radar actually picked up my speed! Since nobody was around, I kept going back and forth, trying to see how high I could get it. At one point, I had it up to 12MPH, but it's really tough to take a clear picture at those speeds. I could have gone faster, but Seb's getting old (if you believe that one...).

This afternoon the whole family went for a walk along the Gig Harbor waterfront. Sunny skies and temps in the mid 50's meant that there was no shortage of folks out for a walk. Gig Harbor's downtown is just one of many great places to slow down and take a stroll in this beautiful town. It may be the most popular spot. About 2 miles of waterfront with shops, sidewalks, and beautiful views the entire way make this an ideal spot to walk. Sebastian is very courteous and moves off of the sidewalk when other people are approaching, stays close by my side when other doggies come near (even when their owners let them stray to the ends of their elastic leashes), and never litters the sidewalk with...well, you know what I mean. I'm sure that the dog owners who let their dogs meander aimlessly back and forth across the sidewalks, approaching and sniffing everybody and every dog they see, making messes on the sidewalks, aren't trying to be inconsiderate, I'm sure they're just pre-occupied with the beauty of the walk.

Here are a few more shots of our walk this morning. Where are some of your favorite places to walk or favorite Gig Harbor walking stories?

For my weekly look at the Gig Harbor real estate market, I wanted to revisit the absorption rate of houses for sale in the area.  As a reminder, the absorption rate measures how long it will take for our current home inventory to be completely sold, or absorbed.  To calculate this number, we take the current number of homes for sale in Gig Harbor, and divide that by the number of houses selling each month. 

Currently there are 572 homes for sale in Gig Harbor.  Over the past 3 months, we are averaging 24 home sales per month (only 20 homes sold in Gig Harbor during January).  At this current pace, if no more homes were listed for sale, our current inventory wouldn't be sold until January of 2010!  Port Orchard has a much better scenario, as their absorption rate is only 12 months, exactly half that of Gig Harbor.  Port Orchard has 621 homes for sale, and is averaging 48 home sales per month over the past 3 months. 

So what do these numbers mean for you if you are needing to sell your home soon?  PRICE IT WELL!  Houses are still able to sell quickly, when they are priced correctly.  Of the 72 Gig Harbor houses to sell the past 3 months, the average days that they spent on the market was 191 days.  However, 24 of the 72 homes sold in 3 months or less.  This is a perfect example of how house pricing affects the statistics. 

If your house is overpriced to begin with, not only will it be sitting on the market with the other 572 homes, but it will have the additional competition that gets listed each week.  On January 6 of 2008, there were only 500 homes on the market in Gig Harbor.  You can see how our inventory is rising.  An overpriced home quickly gets pushed further and further down the list, quickly becoming a "stale" listing.

So how do you know where to price your home?  Have a Realtor analyze what similar homes have SOLD in the past few months.  Don't make the mistake of basing your home's value on what else is currently on the market.  Let's say the data for SOLD homes shows your value to be around $455,000, for example, but you're positive your home is nicer than the one down the street listed for $485,000, so you decide to list at $495,000.  What happens?  The one listed for $485k has been sitting, so they do a price reduction to $470k.  A new home comes on the market for $465k.  You drop yours to $475k to try and keep up.  Meanwhile, the other two homes, still over priced, do price reductions, and now you're chasing the market.  By the time your home sells, it may have been sitting for 9 months and been reduced $50k.  Don't let that happen.  Look at the SOLD numbers, swallow your pride, don't gamble, and let your house sell.  Make sure you hire a Realtor who can swallow his/her pride as well.  Many real estate agents have been accused of "buying" listings; that is, telling the seller they can sell it for more than any other agent just to get the listing, only to start the priced reduction game later.  Don't get me wrong, this isn't the case for every house that has price reductions.  Sometimes the seller and the agent just guess wrong; sometimes there are factors that can't be controlled.  If you under-price your home, chances are you'll get multiple offers which may end up driving the price of your home up even more.  If it's not under-priced, and is in fact priced well, it should sell within a month.  There are so many buyers out looking right now, tired of the over priced homes, that the instant a well priced home pops on the market they'll be ready to snatch it up.  For more information on the area's absorption rate, or further details on preparing your house for sale, please feel free to contact me.