About Clallam County, WA

What did 2007 home sales look like in Port Angeles? Here is a graphic summary of home sales in Port Angeles categorized by price range. [Click on graphic to enlarge.]

Seattle is a substantially different market than the Olympic Peninsula, but the price history has been similar. Since 2000 home prices in the Seattle area have appreciated 189.86%, and even in the last year, Seattle prices have increased 3.3%. The winter months always slow down on the Olympic Peninsula, and the spring months will tell us how 2008 will turn out for home sellers in the area.

Inventory is up as expected in this market, but we simply have not seen a crashing of prices by any measure in Sequim and Port Angeles. We are on a plateau for home prices, and we're seeing an increase in inventory, especially of lots, and greater competition among developers and builders. It is normal for developers to catch the first rogue wave, because developers must plan ahead for many years. To get a project to market is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the captain and deck hands, several years, and a hull full of money. When a market starts to slow, projects must be completed even if it takes longer to sell them out. There's no turning back. That's how it works.

As with many things, timing is everything if you're selling, but for individual home owners, pricing your home at true fair market value (FMV) is a major key to get a buyer to sit down and make a written offer in any market.

In difficult times wisdom becomes a precious commodity in deciding what to do and how to do it. I would recommend home buyers and sellers select their professional Realtor very carefully. Wisdom is not common. It comes from many years of diligence, education, experience, and the school of hard knocks. Search for it like buried treasure, because only by making wise decisions will you rest in the comfort of knowing you got the best price at the right time in the right place.

While much of the county struggles with a depressing real estate market, Washington State does not, and the Sequim and Port Angeles areas do not. We struggle with a slowing market, but not a crisis market by any measurement.

The luxury home market is unique, and especially interesting in this market. In a depressed market, luxury homes typically find their prices slashed by 20%, 30% or more. Take, for example, Burt Reynold's home in Florida (see photo). It is listed for sale at $10.5 million, which is 30% below its original list price.

In a less than vibrant market, luxury homes still hold their value well. When they don't sell within a reasonable period of time, assuming they are priced at fair market value, it is not because of price but because the right buyer has not arrived at this time and place. The single most important factor in selling a luxury home, again assuming fair market value, is connecting with qualified buyers far away. Intelligently connecting with such buyers is a very involved and challenging marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) process, which is why luxury homeowners who decide to go "FSBO" have so little "luck." In fact, an inexperienced real estate agent doesn't bring much more to the table than a FSBO can bring to the table for himself. An experienced professional Realtor takes selling to entirely new levels unknown to the FSBO and new agent. This is all critical in selling luxury homes.

The prices of Sequim and Port Angeles luxury homes certainly do not approach the prices of expensive Florida celebrity homes. A luxury home here can be had for as little as $700,000, more or less. For example, I just sold a luxury home in the Sequim area for $759,000. It's an amazing paradise with 2,300 square feet of the best construction and best money can buy in every feature. The floor plan and architecture offer everything a homeowner wants. It is environmentally friendly ("green"), has a hot tub that is always hot at low cost, has a drop dead water view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the living room, and on a clear day you wake up to an extraordinary water view from the master suite. It has a 48 foot long RV barn built to withstand a hurricane, a workshop, an extended double car garage, an small guest house, and 20 acres of pristine wilderness adjacent to a nationally protected park.

This luxury home sold in a slowing market at only 5% less than it's listed price. That is definitely holding its value in any market. Not only did this house sell very near listed price, while this offer was pending, a backup offer appeared for all cash. Amazing! This proves that good buyers are out there, and they are buying. People who have planned to move for a job transition or a retirement do not put their lives on hold just because the real estate market has slowed. In fact, this becomes a grand opportunity for them to purchase their dream home at a reasonable price. Sellers should be reassured that homes are selling, and that buyers will pay fair market value for the home of their dreams.