About Clallam County, WA

Entry level homes are in greater abundance now than they have been in a long time. At the end of September there were 106 homes available for under $200,000 in the Port Angeles market. For the same time period in 2008 there were 69 and if you look back to ‘07 you'd find 53.

The only other price point with an increase in selection is the $200,000 - $249,999 grouping with 69; 25% more than last year.

The strongest decline in availability is in the $250,000 - $299,999 segment. There are just 31 on the market, a 56% decline from a year ago.

If your budget is more in line with a $300,000 - $349,999 priced home there are 29 to choose from -- a decline of 24% rom the 2008 level.

The next two segments, $350,000 - $399,999 and $400,000 - $499,999 are down an average of 35% with 21 and 23 respectively available.

Two years ago at this time there were 24 homes priced from $500,000 - $599,999. Last year there were thirteen. This year, twelve.

The top range of $600,000 and above has eighteen percent fewer -- a selection of 28 homes currently.

It's taking about one month longer for homes to move off the market now with an average time of just over five months before a listing goes under contract.

The $250,000 - $299,999 group of homes have just over six months of inventory. But even though three plus times larger, the under $200,000 will all be gone in a bit more than eight months at their current sales rate.

There is a year and a week's worth of inventory in the $200,000 - $249,999 range and about thirteen-and-a-half months worth of supply in the homes selling for $300,000 - $349,999.

The homes priced above those have a three-and-a-half year, almost four year, slightly more than six year, and a fourteen-year-seven-month supply for the three-fifty to four, four to five, five to six and six hundred thousand plus brackets.

Year to date, homes priced under $400,000 are selling for about five percent below asking price. Those above that point are going for an average of twelve to fifteen percent less.

Sales activity in the last six months has been stronger than in 2008. This year 162 sold between March and the end of September. Last year 158 changed hands.

Looking at the sales so far this year, we are still down about ten percent from last year's numbers with 208 sold by the end of September, ‘09, versus 228 in 2008. While nowhere near the levels of two years ago -- there were 341 sold in the same time span of 2007 -- our market has fared better than many and sales activity has grown throughout the year.

There is speculation that the government may extend the homebuyer's credit program beyond November 30th. There are also rumours that the government may try to do more and enhance the program beyond its current monetary limit and/or include buyers beyond the first-timers.

Regardless of what Uncle Sugar does, the numbers are screaming that now is the time for savvy real estate buyers, new or otherwise, to find a good home, a wise investment or to move up to the home they want at a historically low interest rate that. . . according to all indicators. . . will soon become one solely for the books and fond rememberance.

Whether from market stimulus programs or buyer necessity, the Port Angeles market has picked up in housing units sold over the last two months. Overall sales are only down eleven percent as compared to last year. If you look at sales over the last six months, we are only off by five percent in the number sold.

Dollar-wise, the market is off far more -- due in part to lower home prices in the middle range from repossessed properties and the pressure they exert on the market, as well as the inventory having a larger than normal number of entry-level priced homes.

If you are looking for a modest home or a rental property, there are 26% more homes under $200,000 than we had last year. At the rate they are moving, homes in this range and those priced from $250,000 - $299,999 are almost in a seller's market; but with the average home taking almost a month longer to sell than it did last year, no one seems to notice.

Other than the first tier, homes priced from $200,000 to $249,999 are the only other segment with an increase in number. There are 99 homes under $200,000 and 76 from $200,000 - $249,999. Last year we had 78 and 62, respectively.

If your budget is from $250,000 - $299,999, there are but 38 homes to choose from, down 47% from last year.

In the $300,000 - $349,999 block, you will find 31 to peruse.

Step up to the $350,000 - $399,999 bracket and the pickings get slim. There are only 18 to choose from, down 50% from a year ago.

The next two price points have inventory closer to 2008. The $400,000 - $499,999 segment is off by nineteen percent and the $500,000 - $599,999 group is down just twelve percent. There are 26 of the first and twelve of the second currently available.

The top grouping, $600,000 and up, is holding steady with 34 homes available -- the same as last year's. That could be because at the rate they are moving we have a slightly better than seventeen-and-a-half year supply.

In the past six months, sales in three segments have been stronger than in the same time frame of a year ago. The under $200,000, $250,000 - $299,999 and the $300,00 - $349,999 have all seen an increase. Year-to-date figures show an increase in the first two aforementioned

price points as well as an additional sale in the $500,000 - $599,999 block. Last year we had sold three of the higher priced homes by this point. This year there have been four.

Last year, by this time, 78 homes had been sold under $200,000. This year we've moved 79. In the $250,000 - $299,999 price range we had sold 29 in 2008. Thirty six have found new owners this year.

Sales of homes in the other five price points are off by 34 - 43 percent.

When the new HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct) regulation went into effect and effectively threw a monkey wrench into the homebuying process, buyers switched to the two programs exempt from the regulation; FHA and USDA funding. And just like people diverting off a freeway to get around a pile up and clogging the secondary roads, the programs suddenly found themselves inundated with contracts. As a result, processing has slowed substantially. It is now estimated that USDA will take seven to nine weeks to process after the contract has been received. The time necessary to prepare and submit the contract by a USDA broker will vary, but could also be a matter of two to three weeks.

For a first-time homebuyer, if the purchase and sale agreement is not initiated within the next month, they could find themselves closing after the cutoff date for the $8,000 stimulus program.

Mary’s husband passed away a couple of years ago and Mary’s life, as she had known it, suddenly changed. The household income was cut by more than half and her responsibility to maintain her life more than doubled. Mary struggled to make the mortgage payments with her single income for two years and even came up short on the property taxes over the last two years. When Mary and I meet she had about a month left before she was going to lose her home.

It was hard to believe but she was about to let her home go and was about to walk away from over $100,000 in equity. See owed $110,000 on her home that was worth about $230,000 and was going to just let the bank have it or file bankruptcy. Mary had just turned 62 which is the first requirement for a Reverse mortgage. She also had a lot of equity in her home, which is the second requirement. After her mandatory counseling session, appraisal, and a lot of behind the scenes processing, we were able to close her new reverse mortgage.

We paid off all the back taxes, 9 months of mortgage payments, late fees, attorney fees, loan fees, and Mary still walked away with $1,500 in cash. She received an FHA fixed reverse at 5.65%. When Mary called to thank me after signing loan documents I sensed tears when she could not describe in words the burden that had been lifted. She was able to keep her home and focus on her full time job of helping others.

.... another brief YouTube video, courtesy of http://warealtor.org/

If you're still wondering if this is a good time to buy a home, you'll definitely want to listen in as Bob and Sally get a lesson on Mortgages, Interest Rates, and Savings. Maybe you don't remember what happened to Interest Rates during the 1980s (OK, maybe you were too young to care about interest rates in the 1980s).

Well let me tell you-they were UGLY. They were so ugly I wondered how my kids would ever be able to afford homes of their own.

But now it's 2009, and Interest Rates are beautiful.  Here's your chance to grab the low rates while you can.  So what are you waiting for? You've got things to do. Here's a short list:

1. Watch the YouTube video