Marlene Scheffer, Realtor to Kitsap County, WA

It is definitely a Buyer's Market in Kitsap County! Listings are up, sales are down, and interest rates are excellent.

As of March 31, 2008, there were 2343 single family detached homes listed by real estate agents in Kitsap County. If no other homes were listed for sale in Kitsap County, and we worked through all the home currently for sale, it would take us over 12 months to sell them all. In other words, we have 12 1/2 months of inventory on the market.

What does that mean to you? If you were trying to sell your home in Kitsap County in March, there were 2342 other homes competing for very few buyers.

Of those homes for sale, 496 were listed for sale with a Kitsap County real estate agent in March alone.

Between March 1 and March 31, only 187 homes actually closed, or sold.

In other words, your chances of selling your home in Kitsap County in our current market in any one month period is less than 8%.

Can your home be sold in our current market? Yes, but you have to do it right. For more information, see my article Beat the Buyer's Market.

Even though it is a "Buyer's Market" in Kitsap County and across the country, We can still sell your home. However, there are several things you must keep in mind in order to do so.

To sell your Kitsap County home, you must price it right, show it perfectly, and market it aggressively.

To price it right, ask your real estate agent to do a price point for you, showing you pending, sold, and active listings similar to your home. Once we have the range for your home's proper pricing, you must price it at the bottom of that range.

In other words, your home must be the best value for the money, against all the other homes in your price range. If not, your home will not sell.

To show it perfectly, the home must be spotlessly clean, odor free, easy to show (no day-ahead appointments), have furniture arranged to take full advantage of a room, and perhaps be professionally staged. The house must have excellent curb appeal. And remember, a fresh coat of paint can do wonders. Call me at 360-689-6836 for free reports and tips on staging, including "27 Free & Easy Fix-ups" and "20 Low -Cost Ways to Spruce Up Your Home". I also provide a free staging report to my sellers, with suggestions for improving the value of your home.

In other words, your home must be "best in show". Make it perfect!

Marketing a home has changed somewhat in the last few years. Putting a sign in the yard and an ad in the local paper won't cut it anymore. Your home must be exposed to the widest possible audience.

Broker's Opens, virtual tours, word of mouth amongst agents, and most importantly a strong internet presence, will get your home sold. Blanket the internet with your home. Placing the home on a company website and in the MLS is not enough. Put it everywhere that a potential buyer may find it. And don't forget to tell all your friends! Hire a real estate agent who is internet-savvy and aggressive in their marketing strategy.

In other words, tell everyone about your home! The more people we expose the house to, the more likely we are to find your perfect buyer.

We must have each of these three components as part of our marketing plan. Two out of the three won't cut it!

To sell your home in Kitsap County, Bremerton, Silverdale, and Port Orchard as well as other areas, use this guide to find your home's next owner. And be sure to contact me for more information and ideas for getting your home sold!

The Washington State Department of Transportation ferry terminal in Bremerton, WA is not very pretty right now. Construction workers have dug up a huge section of road that begins in the ferry's auto-waiting lot, where drivers park there cars as they wait to load them on the ferry. The construction ends up, around several corners, between Pacific and Park on Burwell Street.

What's going on? And where does the sewage come in?

The City of Bremerton is installing a tunnel to allow ferry traffic to unload from the ferry in a shorter time frame while decreasing the risk of accidents. The tunnel will run from near the ferry terminal to the Bremerton Transportation Center, almost 1,000 yards total. The cost of the tunnel is estimated at $30.7 million, Yup, that's right, $30.7 million.

At the same time that this project was being considered, a problem with Bremerton's sewage runoff and new state regulations came to light. Seems that when the clean sewer water drainage system got a large influx of water such as during a heavy rain, the combined water would overflow improperly.Bremerton needed to update and upgrade part of the sewer drainage system.

In an effort to save money, the two projects are being worked at the same time. The city also hopes to minimize the impact of construction on local traffic and people who work and live downtown.

Several lanes along Pacific and First streets are closed. Today, of the two ferry toll booths, one was closed today. Probably not the best day to close a ferry toll booth, considering that it is Monday and Opening Day in Baseball. Hopefully, fans going to ther Mariners game at Safeco this afternoon weren't too inconvenienced.

Construction is scheduled to end in Spring of 2009.

It turned out to be a beautiful day in Belfair and Gig Harbor, which is the route the Olympic Peninsula Region Porsche Club of America chose to take on their drive today.

Twenty-one cars took part in the event today. We began at the Bremerton Airport shortly after 10 am. A long line of cars took off for the North Shore Road, then cut off north on Belfair-Tahuya Road. Unfortunately, one part of the group took the wrong turn-off, but caught up with the rest of the group before hitting the Tahuya River Bridge.

Surprise! The Tahuya River Bridge is down to one lane, thanks to the severe flooding that occurred across the peninsula in December. The entire bridge washed out, but construction crews have built a temporary one-lane bridge to accommodate traffic until the old bridge is replaced.

The group got together at Belfair State Park to get their bearings and review the route ahead. We managed to get a group photo at the park.

The group then drove back through Belfair and took off on Highway 106 toward Twanoh. Shortly before reaching Twanoh State Park, the tour turned south to go the long way to Allyn. Once in Allyn, the Porsche Club headed toward the Purdy Spit and ended with lunch at Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant in Gig Harbor.

The food at Puerto Vallarta was delicious, with large portions and larger margaritas. Although initially slow in taking food orders, the service quickly improved and our server did a great job, especially considering that everyone was on separate tickets and everyone determined their own gratuity.

The drive was a nice way to spend a Sunday, and although there are a few things we will do differently next time (can you say 'short-wave radios?), it was a lot of fun! We can't wait for the next drive in April.

For more information on joining the Olympic Peninsula Region Posche Club of America, go to their website and contact membership chair Gloria.

The 11th Annual RAGS (Rotary Annual Garage Sale) event is being held at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion and the Vanzee building at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds on April 19, 2008.

If you have never been to a RAGS event, put this on your calendar! There are deals to be had, with everything from gently used clothes and building supplies and home decor to kitchenware to collectibles and art to furniture on sale for bargain prices!

Five different Rotary Clubs from across Kitsap County sponsor and run the event, including the Bremerton Noon, East Bremerton, Silverdale Morning, Silverdale Noon and South Kitsap clubs. The sale is for one day only, from 8 am to 2:30 pm. A silent auction will also be held on that day.

The clubs are currently seeking donations. All donations are tax-deductible. For more information on donations, please see the Bremerton Rotary website.

The Rotary club is worldwide organization made up of professional men and women whose ultimate motto is "Service over Self". The goal of the Rotary club is to better their local community.