About Clallam County, WA

It was a challenging day at work, and I was looking forward to a nice jog in Robin Hill Park in Sequim. So I opened up the sliding glass door to my deck and walked across the back yard where I opened the gate to the winding serene trails of Robin Hill Park.

I took the 2.4 mile loop, which gently meanders through the trees and across meadows, falls into a sweet little gulley and works its way up and around to my back yard again. I didn't see anyone. I rarely do, although I know others are out there walking, jogging, riding their bikes, and some are riding horses on the trails designated for that purpose.

The sun was already low in the sky as evening approached, and the beams of bright light were streaking through the pine trees, which were emitting the fresh scent of pine needles and all things green and woodsy.

The 195 acre park is maintained by Clallam County and is almost hidden from public view. The Olympic Discovery Trail runs alongside the park stretching for many miles in either direction. There is no limit to how far I can walk, jog, or ride my bike, except my own physical endurance.

Hmm. No wonder I love living in Sequim.

Port Angeles now has it’s own Blog to openly discuss the future of Port Angeles, or in other words, the vision of Port Angeles. Many local businessman and local citizens have strong opinions about what can and should or could be done to promote Port Angeles as a great place to live, a strong business environment that fosters the growth of small and large businesses, and what the direction and plan should be for the future of Port Angeles.

There have been many discussions in the past dozens of years about the future of Port Angeles, and local government has made many decisions that have defined where we are today. Those decisions include land use and zoning, development restrictions, regulations, business fees and taxes, incentives, and thousands of decisions made on multiple levels, including city, county, the Port of Port Angeles, the Chamber of Commerce, quasi-government agencies, and private associations.

For many locals, the outcome on many issues has been unsatisfactory. For example, the bus depot downtown was a hot issue. Was it the right decision or wrong? There have been hundreds of decisions like this made in years past.

Some argue that Port Angeles has some of the most valuable and beautiful water front property in the world, but one only needs to look at the furrowed brows of visitors who drive through our water front to affirm that something has gone amiss. What about downtown buildings and development? What about business incentives? What about the philosophy of our city leaders? What is their vision for Port Angeles? Shouldn’t there be some cooperation on a vision among all government agencies? Or should we let them each do their own thing, even if the results are quite contradictory?

Why a blog on this subject? Because this is the one place where all discussions are documented and permanantly on public file for all to read and re-read and comment on. You can always come back and see what someone actually wrote, and how others felt about that position. When the Chamber invites a speaker on business development in Port Angeles or the future of Port Angeles, you might have 30 people attend, or on a good day you might have a 100. Those 100 people go home and each has a memory of the speech that fades over time. Meanwhile, the remaining 24,900 people in Port Angeles did not hear the speech and had no opportunity to express their position.

Or take a city council meeting. The same could be said. Limited people, limited opportunity to respond, and politicians only get 1% of the people’s perspective, and that 1% is often special interests. Now everyone has the ability to dialogue and express themselves on this blog focused on the future of Port Angeles. The Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce has over 500 local business members. They can all express their views here. And the person on the street can do so. Politicians will be able to hear more voices here than any other forum available. And politicians and regulators can intelligently express their positions, ask questions, and answer questions. And all articles and comments are archived for all to read and consider.

That’s the value of this blog. The good news is that it is a valuable community resource and absolutely free to all users. Check it out at PortAngelesVision.com.

There have been fifty-percent fewer sales this year than last in the Port Angeles market.

While one might think only the higher priced homes would sell less frequently this year; the data does not seem to hold that correlation.

Shown in declining order, sales volume of homes priced between $500,000 and $599,999 is off by 75% (12 last year, 3 to date this year) and for homes priced from $600,000 and above it's off by 70 percent (10/3). Properties priced from $300,000 - $349,999 are off by 66% (35/12) and those priced from $400,000 - $499,999 are down by 60 percent (20/8).

Surprisingly, homes listed from $200,000 - $249,999 are down 58% in number of sales compared to last year (133/56).

Homes valued from $350,000 - $399,999 are off by 33 % (21/14) and homes priced from $250,000 - $299,999 are 28% lower in volume sold (50/36). The segment showing the best numbers

this year has been the least expensive; the $199,999 or under grouping; but even that group is down by 13% (110/96).

Market inventory is up about ten perecent from this time last year with just two of the eight segments having fewer homes available. If you're looking in the under $199,999 price range, there are 69 on the market. Last year there were 53.

The supply of homes priced from $200,000 - $249,000 is almost identical with 55 on now versus 54 in 2007.

Seventy-one properties are currently at $250,000 - $299,999. Last year we had 58. Folks shopping in the $300,000 - $349,999 price range will find seven more than previously, with 38 now for sale.

Only 33 homes are being offered in the $350,000 - $399,999 range. In ‘07 there were 38.

There were 35 priced between $400,000 - $499,999 last year. The inventory right now is identical in number.

Selection of properties valued at $500,000 - $599,999 is from thirteen homes. Last year there were two dozen on the market. The highest -priced segment of $600,000+ has 34 homes to choose from in the Port Angeles market. A year ago there were 21.

The average home is taking almost a month longer to sell this year. It's taking an average of 128 days now.

Despite the lack of sales, the broader market continues to appreciate. According to the WashingtonCenter for Real Estate Research at Washington State University, the median price (half above and half below) for homes in Clallam County had risen to $250,000 by the end of the second quarter.

The average home price has fallen, but that is understandable considering the number of lower priced homes and the

repossessions, foreclosures and distressed properties that have come on the market and sold, coupled with lower sales in the upper ranges.

Our office currently has twelve distressed, foreclosed, or repossessed properties. The Trulia website lists thirteen foreclosed, eight going to auction and six by bankruptcy, for a total of twenty-seven. And while the number may be disturbing and indicative of the times, it also means that there are very strong bargains available to the discerning buyer.

If you are looking for a property as an investment, it is possible to find an opportunity below asssessed value. Recent offerings have been as much as $50,000 - $70,000 under.

Sequim Homes Sold compared to Port Angeles Homes sold in the first nine months of this year are shown in this graph in $50,000 increments.

Courtesy Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate.

Real estate prices in Sequim and Port Angeles and throughout the Seattle area are holding up well compared to other investments, particularly the stock market right now. USA Today published an article on October 8, 2008 entitled, "$2 Trillion Wiped Out of Retirement Funds." While this represents a 20% decline in retirement funds in a matter of weeks, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service data shows the average price of a single family home is down only 7.8% this September compared to September of 2007.

This is good news for home owners and for investors who are not over leveraged. Again, we see that real estate is a solid investment compared to other retirement options.

In Clallam County, the third quarter of this year (July - Sept 2008) the sales of single family homes were priced as follows:

The median price this year is only down $25,500 from last year. That's real money, but it's not a fortune by any means. Days on market (DOM) are up, but not substantially for these sold homes. [To weight the data for more accurate results, I eliminated the homes sold above $700,000, which represents a small segment of our market but can skew the data and the results.]

This should be encouraging news for those in real estate. We are in challenging times, but we will get past this disruptive election cycle and the economy will stabilize, and we will get back to normal.