Please keep in mind that it's the first month of a new year, so the year-to-date numbers may be quite variable compared to last month. Homes in Silverdale were selling for a median price of about $397,500 at the end of January, up about 40% from a year ago (this is a case where the low number of new year sales distorts the picture). The Kitsap County median closed sale price has fallen less than 1% over the past year. The number of YTD closed sales was down 50% from a year ago, compared to a drop in closed sales of 24% for the County as a whole. The number of pending sales YTD is down 17% from a year ago. The number of active listings in Silverdale (101) is 10% higher than a year ago, and it's also 10% higher than it was at the end of December. The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 14 months.
In the Kitsap County real estate market, we have been monitoring how affordability has improved for conforming conventional borrowers as a result of the reduction in median sales price and rates. Affordability for that class of buyer (admittedly limited) has improved to mid 2004 levels with the reduction in median sales price and rates.
While many pundits have argued that the relationship of median home prices to median incomes must be restored (for instance one study cites that the median home price should be about 2.8 times the median income) the NAR has argued that we should be paying more attention to the monthly mortgage payment in relation to median income. With home prices steady or falling, mortgage interest rates down significantly, and income generally trending upward, we found that our market was returning to affordability much more quickly than many articles have predicted. This doesn’t provide much relief for subprime or jumbo loan borrowers, but it’s a start.
Interesting that we haven’t yet seen any further reduction in the posted 30 year conforming rate since the recent lowering of the Federal Funds Rate. We also note that the median sales price for closed Kitsap residential sales in January appears to be headed back to the levels of last October (now about $288k, when in November and December it was about $265k) - away from affordability.
Homes in Silverdale were selling for a median price of about $318,500 at the end of December, up about 1% from a year ago. The number of YTD closed sales was down 3.7% from a year ago, compared to a drop in closed sales of 18% for the County as a whole. The number of pending sales YTD is up 1.6% from a year ago. The number of active listings in Silverdale (101) is about the same as a year ago. This inventory is now falling as homeowners are taking their properties off the market for the Holidays. The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 6 months.
Homes in Poulsbo were selling for a median price of about $355,000 at the end of December, up about 1.4% from a year ago. Kitsap County median prices were up 6% over the past year. The number of closed sales YTD has increased 13% compared to last year, and the number of YTD pending sales has increased 31%, though a large portion of that increase is from presales of one moderately priced new construction development - homes that never appeared as active listings. The Poulsbo listing inventory (118) has risen by 17% compared to a year ago. The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 6.6 months. Calculating inventory turnover in this manner is artificially low since a number of the new construction homes closing did not show as active listings. Of 45 current pending sales, 40 are new construction. Of 63 non-new construction active listings in Poulsbo, only 7 closed last month, making the inventory turnover rate 9 months.
Using the example of Kingston - the largest housing market in North Kitsap - homes were selling for a median price of about $357,250 at the end of December, up about 7% from a year ago. Kingston prices fluctuate more than some of the other markets because of the lower listing and sales volume. Kitsap County median prices were up 6% over the past year. The YTD number of closed sales is down 18% from a year ago, and the YTD number of pending sales is down 11%. The number of closed sales is down 18% Countywide from a year ago. The number of active listings in Kingston (75) is up 32% from a year ago, and the inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 25 months.
My team at Prowse and Company has been selling Kitsap County real estate since 1998 (and myself for over 30 years). We understand today's real estate market and how best to help buyers and sellers.
Brenda Prowse - Listing Agent and Broker
Brenda founded Prowse and Company in 1998. In the past 10 years she has individually listed and sold over 600 homes in Kitsap County (the Prowse and Company team has sold more than 1000). In addition to being a licensed broker, she is a Graduate of the Realtors Institute (GRI) and the Howard Brinton Star Power Real Estate University. Brenda recently has earned the prestigious Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation and joins a worldwide referral network of elite global real estate practitioners with expertise in working with international clients as well as immigrants. Most recently Brenda has completed certification as a Certified Distressed Properties Expert (CDPE). Two other members of her team are also CDPE's, and she is committed to helping distressed property homeowners avoid foreclosure.
She has been a top selling agent in Kitsap County for more than 30 years and has won numerous sales awards. Brenda holds a BA in Education from Eastern Washington University (1972). She started in real estate when she returned to the US after teaching school in Australia for 6 years. She was President of the Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce in 2002 and was chosen as the Poulsbo Chamber's Person of the Year for 2004.
Brenda specializes in the listing and sales of Kitsap County real estate in Bremerton, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, Suquamish, Indianola, Hansville, and Port Orchard, WA. The Kitsap Peninsula is located across Puget Sound from Seattle. Commuting to work in Seattle via the Washington State Ferries is common, and in this respect Kitsap County functions as a suburb of Seattle. Her husband Hugh is a Naval Academy graduate and retired Navy submarine officer, so she is very familiar with military life and programs that support military moves to Naval Base Kitsap, Keyport, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and local support facilities.
Brenda sells residential properties, land, condominiums, multifamily dwellings, and new construction homes. She specializes in the sale of waterfront properties and land. You can download our monthly waterfront mailer with properties and market statistics. Use our web site to search all the homes on the market in Kitsap County. She is a Certified Distressed Properties Expert (CDPE).
Take a look at our web site to see many more referrals like the ones below.
Jason and Kelly Morris
Bought a home in Bremerton through agent Noelle Osborn of Prowse & Company
"Noelle - We can't thank you enough for helping us and giving us the gift of being able to raise our girls in a home of our own. This special season will be their 1st Christmas in their home."
Brian and Susan Burns
Bought a home through agent Jim Valentine of Prowse & Company and referred a friend.
"Dear Brenda, and especially Lori and Taylor — Thank you so very much for the lovely roses you sent us this afternoon. They are sitting in the place of honor in our entry hall and they are beautiful!! We felt very secure in referring your realty to our friends, Sandi and Mike Cruickshank. As I told you last year, we were extremely pleased with the service we received from Jim Valentine - who showed us 17 houses in one day and followed through as our agent during the escrow process while we were still living in California. He was fabulous and, Lori and Taylor, so are you. The Cruickshanks are delighted with your patience and knowledge and ability to make things happen quickly. I spoke with them today and they are in serious discussions about several of the homes you showed them. Again, thank you for the wonderful roses. We will enjoy them over the next days and remember you the next time someone asks us to recommend a realtor."
Dr. Michael and Toni Grabowski
Sold a home in Suquamish through Prowse & Company
"Thank you, Brenda and the team at Prowse and Company. We were so pleased with your service. You are a great communicator which helped tremendously in the process of selling our waterfront home on Balzow Rd.
in Suquamish. The weekly reports which you e mailed kept us up to date on the the showings, the feed back from buyers, the market trends. We appreciated your honesty in this difficult real estate market; it was not always what we wanted to hear but it was the truth, was appropriate and resulted in the successful sale of our home. We highly recommend Prowse and Company."
Terry and Bethany Lew
Sold a home in Bremerton through Prowse & Company
"Thanks again for all your help in getting our house sold—it’s been a very stressful couple of months and the peace of mind that you provided has been invaluable. We don’t know if/when we’ll be back in the area, but we’ll certainly give your name to anyone who asks."
Scott and Laura Harkins
Sold a home in Poulsbo through Prowse & Company
"With Scott already in Georgia, I thought that I was going to be overwhelmed with selling this house by myself. But you have made the process very easy and smooth by setting up people to come fix what needed to be fixed to get this house sold. You have gone above and beyond the call of duty for me and for that, I am truly thankful!"
Charles and Nancy Swenson
Bought a home through Taylor and Lori Brown of Prowse & Company
"You guys rock! We can’t thank you enough for all you have done in helping us with our Poulsbo dream!"
Stan and Anita Smith
Bought a home in Poulsbo through agents Taylor & Lori Brown of Prowse & Company
"Please thank Hugh and your staff for doing such a great job for us. We really appreciated all the help. Taylor and Lori, but mostly Taylor at least from my end, were extremely helpful and in constant contact with us. Taylor took care of all the leg work and did an outstanding job. I don’t think I ever had a question or concern that he didn’t take care of. Kudos to him. Hugh jumped in as necessary and took care of whatever they couldn’t and left nothing unresolved."
Donna & Georgy Dimof
Sold a home in Poulsbo through Prowse & Company
"We are writing in reference to our real estate transaction during the fall of 2007 with Brenda Prowse & Company. We contracted with Brenda Prowse to sell our home in Poulsbo. From the first meeting with Brenda until our home closed, she and her staff communicated regularly with us regarding the status of our listing. They provided regular updates on mortgage rates, pending sales, market changes, etc. We especially appreciated Brenda’s honesty and knowledge of the local real estate market. Her experience in Kitsap County and her grasp of the market—during a record downturn in number of homes sold and decreasing prices—contributed to our home being sold in five weeks for our asking price. Brenda also successfully negotiated a longer closing time due to a family emergency during the counteroffer period. We would highly recommend Brenda Prowse & Company for any real estate needs. Her staff is extraordinarily knowledgeable and everyone responded quickly to questions and issues that arose during the sale process."
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