Rich Jacobson Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Agent

(sung to the tune "Let it Snow!")

Oh, the Real Estate Market is Frightful,

but for Buyers it's quite Delightful.

And since there's so many homes,

"Let it Show, Let it Show, Let it Show!"

It doesn't show signs of Improving,

so if you really want to be moving,

whenever a Buyer's Agent calls,

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Okay, so I'm making some phone calls yesterday, trying to line-up a few showings for my Buyer clients. Here in Kitsap County WA, most of the 'Phone-to-Show' numbers listed on the MLS data-sheets are direct lines to the Sellers. And so, when you're making arrangements to show a property, chances are you're going to be making an appointment with the Sellers.....

I don't know about your local real estate market, but here in Kitsap County WA the pendulum has pretty much swung over in favor of the Buyer's side of things. We've got a fairly sizable amount of inventory to choose from, prices have dropped rather attractively, and for the 'not-so-faint-of-heart' Buyers, there are a number of short sale or bank-owned properties to pursue.

Given the current market dynamics, Sellers must confront the challenges of selling their home 'head-on!' and take a very aggressive approach in effectively marketing their home.

So back to my phone calls from yesterday...

My Buyers have some very specific criteria in what they are looking for in a home: They want a view home - mountain, water, or both; a Master Bedroom/bathroom on the main floor; preferably a 3-car garage; and natural gas. Their price range is up to $500K.

I had picked out 4 potential properties for my Buyers to look at - 2 of them were vacant, and 2 required appointments.

My first phone call went something like this:

Me: "Good Morning! My name is Rich Jacobson, and I'm with Windermere Real Estate in Silverdale WA. I have some Buyers who would like to see your home this evening around 6:45pm. Would that be a convenient time for you?"

Seller: "Oh tonight isn't going to work for us. We're currently out-of-town this week and have someone house-sitting for us. Can you bring your Buyers over sometime next week?

The second call went like this:

Me: "Good Morning! My name is Rich Jacobson, and I'm with Windermere Real Estate in Silverdale WA. I have some Buyers who would like to see your home this evening around 7:15pm. Would that be a convenient time for you?"

Seller: "Oh, we're over in Seattle right now, and the house is a total mess. Can you show it on Friday instead?"

The first property has been on the market for nearly 150 days. The second property for just over a year.

I realize this may seem like fairly basic and obvious advice, but it amazes me how many Sellers continue to throw-up roadblocks that prevent the potential sale of their home, or demand unnecessary hoop-jumping that only serves to discourage Buyers from viewing their homes.

'Maximum Accommodation' is the rule of the day! As a Seller, you must make every possible effort for Buyers to see your home. I realize that it gets really old, really fast, trying to keep your home picked up and ready-to-show at a moment's notice. This is especially difficult if you have kids, or pets, or both.

Give each of your kids a specific task that allows them to contribute to the process of getting the house ready to show. If you're out of town and someone is house-sitting, give your Listing Agent their cell phone number, and make it the 'Phone-to-Show' number for that period of time. If you know you're going to be away from the home on a given day, make sure the place is presentable before heading out.

Making your home presentable and easy to show will help to give it the greatest amount of exposure to potential Buyers, and increase your chances of getting it sold more quickly!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SoundBiteBlog and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

One of the perils of recreational crabbing here in the Puget Sound WA is exposing yourself and your crabbing gear to potential thievery.

Okay, so maybe it’s not quite as perilous as the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” but it certainly is extremely annoying and frustrating!

We went out onto Hood Canal last Saturday afternoon to retrieve our crab pots, only to find 3 out of the 4 missing. The remaining pot had been picked clean.

There are instances (usually during the weekdays) when we don’t have a lot of time, and simply drop off our crab pots, leaving them out overnight. On the weekends, when we’re not in as much of a hurry, we’ll catch some rays, or tool over to Pleasant Harbor, while we wait for our pots to fill up.

Occasionally, it is entirely possible to set your pots too close to a steep underwater shelf, and have the current drag them into deeper water. But we dropped ours out at the peak of high tide, and left more than enough excess rope to compensate for any variables. It’s also highly unlikely that 3 pots, set at varying depths, would all strangely disappear, or that the 4th pot would be empty.

So, to you low-life crab pot crooks, I offer the following message:

Each of my crab pot buoys are marked with my name and phone number - Rich Jacobson (360) 440-4758. If you feel it necessary to pull up our pots and pilfer our crab, then at least leave the crab pots intact where you find them. We’ve always been very generous with the bounty of our catch and we don’t mind sharing some with you. But having to replace our gear is a huge pain and gets rather costly.

May the Creator of Crabbing Karma repay you for your dastardly deeds of Dungeness deprivation.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and SOUNDBITEBLOG, CrabbingInTheHood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

The following is a brief analysis of the combined single-family home and condo market within Kitsap County, Washington for August 2009, provided by Rich Jacobson of Windermere Real Estate, in Silverdale, WA (this includes data for Bainbridge Island WA)

• Properties currently active on the market: 2064
• Properties closed in the last 180 days: 1261
• Average Sales Price: $296,912
• Average List Price: $309,393
• Ratio of List Price to Sales Price: 96%
• Average Days on Market: 99
• Sales Pending this Week: 12

Silverdale WA statistics separately: (Area 147)

• Properties currently Active on the market: 81
• Properties closed in last 180 days: 87
• Average Sales Price: $299,996
• Average List Price: $309,318
• Ratio of List Price to Sales Price: 97%
• Average Days on Market: 102
• Sales Pending this week: 10

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?

It’s been a fairly busy Summer season for me here in Kitsap County WA as qualified Buyers continue to take advantage of the slower market, low mortgage rates, greater Seller-offered incentives, and Federal programs like the $8000 1st Time-Buyer’s Tax Credit (possibly being extended into 2010).

The real challenge has been for Listing Agents and Sellers to effectively compete against Short Sales and Foreclosures. While traditional properties aren’t subject to the myriad of frustrating and time-consuming hoop jumping normally required by Short Sales and Foreclosures, Sellers must still overcome the usual disparity in pricing. This demands that Sellers spend more time and energy effectively preparing their home for market, ensuring greater attraction/appeal to potential Buyers. It also necessitates that they price their homes more aggressively right from the onset. Greater demands and expectations are placed upon the Listing Agents to generate maximum marketing exposure for their home, leveraging the power of the Internet to its fullest extent possible.

WHY MOVE TO THE KITSAP PENINSULA?

There are many reasons why home-buyers are drawn to Kitsap County WA: the pace of life is a lot slower and less hectic; we have some of the highest rated public schools in the State; we’re surrounded by the scenic/recreational waterways of the Puget Sound. A recent study by US News & World Report named the Silverdale/Bremerton WA area as being the Top US Housing Growth Market for the next 10 years.

For more additional information and resources concerning real estate in Kitsap County WA and the Western Puget Sound, access my website, Kitsap Life .

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

In the most recent issue of US News and World Report, Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA were both ranked in 1st place among the Top Ten US Housing Markets for the Next Ten Years.

Citing a recent study conducted by Moody’s Economy.com, Associate Editor Luke Mullins shared findings that the home prices of neighboring cities Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA should expect to increase by an average of 5.2 percent annually from the fourth quarter of 2008 through the same period of 2018.

Situated near the heart of the Kitsap Peninsula, Silverdale and Bremerton WA share more than 300 miles of scenic Puget Sound coastline with other area cities like Port Orchard, Poulsbo, and Seabeck.

While the attractive Pacific Northwest location is certainly a huge draw that brings new residents to the area, the study points to the area’s stable economies as the primary determining factor for the projected future growth. A large military presence/community— of the U.S. Navy in particular — helps to insulate the local economies somewhat from the widespread volatility being experienced in other markets around the county.

With the current low mortgage rates and the $8000 tax credit, this can be an excellent time for 1st Time Home Buyers to enter the market. And, with the number of bank-owned properties and short sales, there is also opportunities for investors to acquire some bargain-priced properties.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, and Crabbing in the Hood.

As you know from my past articles, I am a huge crabbing enthusiast. Here in the waters of Puget Sound, the prized Dungeness Crab is plentiful, and can be easily caught with the proper gear.

In years past, we had several local options on where you could purchase your crabbing gear supplies.

Unfortunately, several of these suppliers have either gone out of business or are in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings.

With the opening of recreational crabbing season soon to come to the Hood Canal and other waterways of the Puget Sound, where can a guy/gal buy their crabbing gear supplies?

For all the current lowdown on crabbing on Hood Canal WA and options on where to purchase your crabbing gear, go to CrabbingInTheHood.com (opens up into a separate window for your viewing ease).

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and SOUNDBITEBLOG, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com