About Belfair's Hood Canal

Matthew Gardner has released his Q4 2010 performance evaluations of Washington real estate. This quarterly report is exclusive to Windermere Real Estate but is made available here at no cost. His conclusion to our Q4 market is:

As has been the case for all of 2011, an increase in sales of Washington real estate does not mean an increase in prices. The value of transacted units in our market declined by 15.5 percent from a year ago, excluding the volatile San Juan County which saw a drop of 14.8 percent. Looking at the specific counties within our survey, there were two that exhibited price growth from December of 2010, these being Island (+7.1%) and Clallam (+4.5%). Counties that saw the greatest price declines included: Jefferson (-30.1%), Kittitas (-28%), Mason (-26.4%), Grays Harbor (-20.5%), and San Juan (-20%).

There are, I believe, two reasons why we have not yet seen the price stability in Washington real estate that we are all looking for. The first of these is that the sale of distressed homes continues to make up a very large percentage of all transactions and these homes sell for substantially lower than market price. In King County, for example, distressed transactions made up 40 percent of all sales in 2011. Additionally, with such low levels of supply, we have seen a pronounced change in the make-up of sales with a disproportionate percentage of homes selling in very affordable price ranges. Both of these factors are having negative effects on home prices.

I am keeping the housing market at a “C-“ grade this quarter and am unlikely to change this until we start to see more housing choices become available and the percentage of foreclosures start to decline.

To see all of Mr. Gardner's report and his charts that make more graphical his analysis, click here to go to http://thesouthsounder.com/newsletters/Gardner_Report_Q4_f.pdf

Hood Canal Waterfront Homes for Sale~What's going on along the Hood Canal Waterfront?

So What is going on along the shores of the Hood Canal for waterfront home sales?

2011 proved to be a tough year in waterfront home sales along the Hood Canal. Inventory was fairly heavy. No one knew what the year had in store and it chugged along quite slowly but it did chug along. There were a total of 15 Hood Canal waterfront home sales along the South Shore and North Shore of Hood Canal between January of 2011 and the end of the year.

The average dollars per square foot reflected in these 15 sales was $288.76 with an average market time of 156 days. The average price was $406,480. Those stats are actually not too shabby considering the economy. Let's look a little closer at the breakdown:

Prices of sold Hood Canal Waterfront Homes for 2011:

• Price range between $200,000 and $250,000 = 4 sold
• Price Range between $250,000 and $300,000 = 0 sold
• Price range between $300,000 and $350,000 = 2 sold
• Price Range between $350,000 and $400,000 = 1 sold
• Price range between $400,000 and $450,000 = 2 sold
• Price range between $450,000 and $500,000 = 1 sold

Over a price of $500,000 sold waterfront home stats : a total of 4 (2) between $500k and $600k; (1) sold at $741,900 and (1) sold at $820,000!

Don't be disappointed that you missed out on your Hood Canal Waterfront Home because there are still many choices and some great values along the South Shore and North Shore of Hood Canal just waiting for you!

Time to start thinking about your summertime Hood Canal Waterfront Retreat!

89% of all properties sold were first seen on the Internet. That means the single most critical moment in selling a home is to move a buyer from their screen to your living room.

If an Internet shopper does not see your listing, they cannot consider it. Syndicate every listing to the big real estate search engines. Don’t forget Facebook. It’s become a Swiss Army Knife and makes a fine website, well-connected and SEO coming out its ears. Also, don't forget a backlink to your website.

Buyers are looking for pictures - lots of them with detailed descriptions on a website made just for that home. They want a video tour, a 3D Google Earth overview and a PDF of your brochure. The better a buyer thinks they know your home, the more comfortable they are to take the next step.

33% of American adults own smart phones. Increase the number of screens that can see your website by 84M with a qr-code.

Buyers, sitting in front of their screens - this is the moment of decision – the moment where more opportunity is lost. Increase your odds.

Preparation

• Deck manufacturers suggest using a plastic or rubber-tipped shovel, never a metal shovel, to remove snow from a wooden deck. Choose a sturdy plastic snow shovel with rounded corners to effectively remove heavy snow and debris. Do not shovel across the decking but instead shovel in the direction of the wood grain, to prevent scratching or denting the decking.

Loose Ice

• Use the same plastic or rubber-tipped shovel to remove loose pieces of ice from the deck. Shovel gently and don't try to dislodge any pieces to avoid scratching or denting the wood pieces. If your deck wood is older or pressure-treated, take even more precautions when shoveling the decking, as the wood is more fragile.

Melting Ice

• Wooden deck manufacturers sometimes recommend using a pet-safe ice melt to get ice off your decking. It's less corrosive than other products and it's eco friendly. For an even gentler approach, pour a bucket of hot water and a little dish-washing detergent on your wooden deck. This not only will remove the ice, but also should keep ice from forming for up to a week.

Warnings and Suggestions

• Do not use rock salt on a wooden deck. Rock salt is corrosive and causes the wood to dry out. It will permanently stain your deck. To protect your wooden deck through the winter months, apply a sealer in the fall before it snows. Wash the decking first with a commercial deck cleaner or a detergent and water solution

According to Rich Childers of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2011 appears to be a record year for the amount of crabs harvested by recreational crabbers in Puget Sound. An estimated 2.1 million pounds of crabs were taken in the summer season from July 1 to Labor Day, with additional harvest coming during the fall and winter.

"Lots of people enjoyed a high rate of catch this year", Childers said. "We are seeing an abundance of crab, phenomenally high in some of the Puget Sound marine areas," he said. "We're seeing the same thing with shrimp. Something in the environment is favoring the survival of Dungeness crabs from larvae to adult."

Crab season will close in all areas on Dec. 31, and anyone with a winter catch record card must report their catch by Feb. 1 — even if no crab were caught.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/dec/28/record-year-likely-for-puget-sound-sport/#ixzz1hwlPWoYx