Belfair, WA

Real Estate Sales and Market report for Mason County, Washington for the period of January 1 through January 15, 2010 reports 41 Total Closed Sales in the amount of $5,659,771.

Area A, (Shelton, Arcadia, Kamilche) recorded sales counts of 12 closed sales totaling $1,670,500. Area B, (Hartstene/Agate area) placed 9 sales on the board in the amount of $1,348,350. Area C, (Belfair, Allyn, Grapeview) reported 12 sales totaling $1,914,021. Area D, (Hoodsport/Union) posted 8 sales for the period in the amount of $726,900

Single Family Resale Homes, on less than 5 acres, accounted for 14 of the total sales. Four New Single Family homes were sold. There were no Multi-family units sold and 3 Single Family Resale Home, on more than 5 acres, sold.

Commercial properties sold - 1, Condominiums -0.

Land selling with a Mobile posted only 1 sale and there were 5 platted lots recorded as sold. Short plats posted 7 sales and there were 6 unplatted parcels sold.

There were no homes sold above the $500,000 plus range and only 1 sold between the $400,000 to $499,999 ranges. Meanwhile, 2 homes sold in the $200,000-$249,999 range, 3 sold in the $160, to $179,999 range and 3 in the $130,000 to $144,999 range.

The average price for Single Family Resale's was $170,819 with a Median price of $160,500.

Real Estate Loan numbered 110 taken out in the amount of $23,603,472. The average conventional 30-year loan rate was 5.02%

If your in a Rural Market are you numbers similiar to the following?

(We are a Rural Real Estate Market located in Washington State. There is only 1 incorporated city in the County. The rest of the County is dotted with small Villages bordering the Puget Sound and Hood Canal. County Pop: approx. 50,000)

Here is a look at the Mason County, Washington Real Estate Quarterly sales data for the year ending 2009:

At the end of the 1^st Quarter of 2009 there were 145 total real estate sales in the amount of $21,032,084. The average price for a single family resale for all areas of the county was $170,401 with a Median price of $145,650.

The 2^nd Quarter showed improvement with total sales coming in at 277 in the amount of $41,053,084. The average price was $179,563, Median - $159,000.

Third Quarter was much better posting 328 total sales in the amount of $56,035,993. Average sale price for single family rose to $215,097 with a Median price rising to $179,000.

The fourth Quarter ended with a predicted slight downturn with 309 total sales in the amount of $48,316,320 with the average price of a single family home coming in at $188,392 and a Median price settling in at $169,000.

Total Real Estate sales for 2009 - 1,101.

Total dollar volume for 2009 - $166,438,981

Hood Canal & Puget Sound Waterfront Homes for Sale~How was the year in review?

2009 was a very tough year all around - the economy overall and the housing market in general, so what went on with Hood Canal & Puget Sound Waterfront Home Sales? Surprisingly enough there were 23 homes sold along the shores of Hood Canal and Puget Sound in 2009. I decided to take a look at 2009 and compare it to 2008, 2007 and 2006 to see how much of a difference there was in price, homes sold, and the time on the market.

Waterfront homes as a general rule, tend to be more for recreational, part-time summer use, but there has been an increase in the number of waterfront homes that are lived in full time along the Shores of Hood Canal and Puget Sound.

When reviewing Puget Sound Waterfront homes for sale, I am reviewing the statistics for my market area of Puget Sound which consists of Victor, Allyn, and Grapeview -all along the shores of Case Inlet & North Bay. Shelton is also in my market area but there does tend to be a slight difference in marketing and values so I did not include that area in the statistics but will be reviewing it in another blog.

The statistics I am looking at regarding the homes for sale and sold on the Hood Canal are along theSouth Shore and North Shore of the Hood Canal in my market area which includes the towns of Belfair, Union and Tahuya in Mason County.

We carried quite a large inventory of waterfront homes for sale throughout the year of 2009. The end of the year we did see some come off the market which did lighten the inventory some. We also saw an increase in the showings of waterfront homes for sale above the $500,000 price range during the month of December and into the new year. A lot of these buyers are also cash buyers-possibly taking advantage of the great homes for sale with great prices and values as opposed to placing their hard earned dollars elsewhere...

So here's the wrap up:

2009 there were a total of 23 waterfront homes sold along the Hood Canal & Puget Sound in Mason County.

• (9) were sold along the South Shore of Hood Canal
• (5) were sold along the North Shore of Hood Canal
• (9) were sold along the shores of Puget Sound - North Bay and Case Inlet.
• The average sale price wasas $391,283
• The average market time was 235 days
• The average dollars per square foot was $338.63

2008 there were a total of 23 waterfront homes sold along the Hood Canal & Puget Sound in Mason County.

• (8) were sold along the South Shore of Hood Canal
• (6) were sold along the North Shore of Hood Canal
• (9) were sold along the shores of Puget Sound - North Bay and Case Inlet
• The average sale price was $604,158
• The average market time was 152 days
• The average dollars per square foot was $337.95.

It is interesting to see the difference in the market times and the fact that 2009 the buyers were focused on homes under $500,00 for the most part. It is also interesting to see that the dollars per square foot for both these years stayed fairly consistent.

2007 there were a total of 27 waterfront homes sold along the Hood Canal & Puget Sound in North Mason County.

• (9) were sold along the South Shore of Hood Canal
• (5) were sold along the North Shore of Hood Canal
• (12) were sold along the shores of Puget Sound - North Bay and case Inlet.
• The average sale price was $584,815 (3 of the homes sold for over a million dollars)
• The average market time for these homes was 119 days
• The average dollars per square foot were $379.49 - roughly a 12% difference from 2008 and 2009.

One more year to take a look at - 2006 - I think it is safe to say that 2007 was the peak of the market but let's see how it compared to 2006.

2006 there were a total of 42 homes sold along the Hood Canal & Puget Sound in North Mason County.

• (12 ) were sold along the South Shore of Hood Canal
• (16) were sold along the North Shore of Hood Canal
• (14) were sold along the Puget Sound - Case Inlet and North Bay
• The average sale price was $$480,970 (the highest sale was one at $1.06 million.
• The average market time for these homes was 129 days
• The average dollars per square foot was $330.34

Interesting..... the average dollars per square foot was higher in 2007, but there were more Hood Canal and Puget Sound Waterfront homes sold in 2006. Good numbers to take a look at.

So in a nutshell would you agree 2007 was the peak of the north Mason County waterfront home sales along the Hood Canal and Case Inlet/North Bay-Puget Sound as far as values go? Overall the average dollars per square foot has stayed consistent as well as the number of sales for the last few years. Even in 2008 and 2009 the average dollars per square foot was higher than in 2006.

Got to say, that it is nice to see that the waterfront homes for sale have pretty much held their value!

I hope this information was helpful. If you would like more detailed information or a market specific report for your waterfront home, I would love to help you out with that. Drop me a line, give me a call or stop on in!

The facts~90 Day FHA "Flip" Housing Waiver Rules Straight from HUD~

Seems this is the topic of the week and a very exciting one at that! I have read and seen a lot of blogs regarding the 90 Day FHA "Flip" housing Waiver, but I became confused with some of the information as well as I had more questions.... so I decided to go right to the horses mouth and find out the facts. Below is a link to the actual HUD document that explains all of the rules involved with the waiver of the 90 day FHA "Flip" rule.

We are all looking for and working towards a more solid real estate market as well as economy and possibly this will help alleviate some of the heavy inventory of homes for sale in the local real estate markets. Of course as with anything - only time will tell!

Without further ado...... CLICK HERE for the facts from the www.hud.gov website regarding the waiver of the 90 FHA "FLIP" rule.

Happy House Hunting!

As 2009 winds down, we are all looking forward to a Successful, Happy, Healthy and prosperous New Year!

With that said, which kind of driver are you when it comes to driving your business?

Are you focusing on the rear-view mirror more than you are focusing on looking forward through the windshield?

"Focus on looking forward through the windshield to achieve your goals; use the rear-view mirror to reflect upon what is behind you" is something one of my friends is always telling me.

He is always reminding me that we need to "see" where we are going all the while using the rear-view mirror for an occasional look at where we have been and what could be creeping up on us; Knowing that we can't change that part, but use the past as knowledge and experience.

Our true attention needs to remain focused on looking forward through the windshield to see where we are going.

We can't change where we have been but we can learn from it as well as take direction from it while looking through the windshield to the future.

The rear-view mirror shows us places we have been and things that are done. Gone. Can't change. But we can use them to our advantage while facing forward and focusing on what is to come.

Granted there are more than likely going to be a few curves thrown in front of us that we weren't anticipating but it's all in how we use our (rear-view) past experience to successfully navigate and help us through it.

Knowledge gained from our rear-view mirror experiences will make us better drivers facing forward looking through the windshield.

Which are you going to do? Are you going to drive your career and goals focusing on what has happened in the rear-view mirror or look forward to new experiences and better roads to come through the windshield in front of you?

Here's to everyone a wish for a very successful, happy, healthy and PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!