Four Reasons Kitsap County is a Great Place to Live
John Powers, Director of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance, dropped by our office a couple of weeks ago. As part of his presentation, he offered some interesting facts about Kitsap County.
Kitsap County has 254 miles of shoreline. That means there is lots of shoreline to explore on foot, by wheeled vehicle or by boat.
Eighty percent of people in Kitsap County live within one mile of the water. The lifestyle here is very oriented towards the water.
Puget Sound Naval Ship Yard in Bremerton is the number two employer location in the region behind the Boeing plant in Everett. There is a stable job market in the county.
Kitsap County has the number two median income among Washington counties. There is money available to support schools and other public and private institutions.
Free Shredding and Recycling Event
On May 12, Windermere is sponsoring our second free recycling event for difficult to recycle items. The event will offer shredding for sensitive documents and recycling of desktop and laptop computers, monitors and televisions. You can also bring gently used clothing and small household items. Come hungry and you can join in the hotdog lunch to benefit the Windermere Foundation.
Saturday, May 12, 11 - 2 PM
At all three Windermere West Sound locations
Kingston - 26569 Lindvog Rd NE
Poulsbo - 18570 State Hwy. 305
Silverdale - 9939 Mickelberry Rd. NW
Document shredding by American Data Guard (staples & paperclips OK, no bound material)
TV’s, Computers - Desktops & Laptops, Monitors, gently used clothing & small household items collected by Northwest Center.
If you would like to help spread the word, click on the link below for a PDF flyer you can print and hand out, or email to your friends.
http://bigwaterproperties.com/docs/Recycle_Event_2012_Flyer.pdf
Carbon Monoxide Alarms Now Required When Selling
A new Washington State law took effect April 1, 2012 that requires home sellers to install carbon monoxide alarms in any single family home they sell. The law requires an alarm outside each sleeping area and one on each level, regardless of the location of the sleeping areas. The requirement applies whether or not the home has fuel-fired appliances. This aspect of the requirement is included to help prevent the types of accidents we have seen when outdoor grills are brought into the house for heat.
Save the Date for “Gone Fishing”
In addition to the dinner, Gone Fishing will include a historical presentation by local fishing families as well as a fundraising auction. Advanced tickets are required and can be purchased at the Poulsbo Historical Society Museum in the Poulsbo City Hall (200 Moe Street), at the Poulsbo Sons of Norway office (18891 Front Street) or from me. The cost is $25 per person.
Upper End Property Sales Improving
was true of upper end properties. A bit of research revealed that it is.
In Jefferson County, sales of homes over $400K went from an average of two sales per month in December through February to six sales in March.
The increase is less pronounced in North Kitsap, but still true. There were five homes over $400K sold in December, two in January and three in February. Then in March the sales jumped to six.
On Bainbridge Island, sales of homes over $1M totaled one a month in December and January, then increased to four in February and five in March.
These are solid increases in all three areas. The table below summarizes the activity.
|
| December | January | February | March |
| Jefferson County – Sales > $400K | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Kitsap County – Sales > $400K | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Bainbridge Island – Sales > $1M | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
April 2012 West Sound Real Estate Market Graphs
The graphs reached through the link below show the average market time, average list price and average sales price for homes over the past several years for North Kitsap County (NK), Southeast Jefferson County (SEJ) and Bainbridge Island (BI). At the time these graphs were created, the average sales price remained at 77 percent of the average list price for all listings in NK, increased to 67 percent for SEJ and increased to 78 percent for BI. For just those properties that sold in NK, the average selling price remained at 100 percent of the asking price at the time it was sold. For SEJ it was 100 percent and for BI it was 99.6 percent.
The average market time for all homes on the market is continuing to decline for all three markets, typical for the spring. The average market time for all properties in all three markets is still 150 days or more. In SEJ, it is 211 days. The average market time for just those properties that sold is significantly lower for NK and BI.
In SEJ the average market time for sold properties has continued the increase noted last month. In fact, in the week ending March 25, the average market time for the sold properties exceed the overall average for all sold and active listings. I take that as reaffirmation of my belief that many property owners who have had their homes on the market for a long time have reduced their prices to the point that they have finally sold.
The graphs show that NK average selling prices have just turned upward from the recent sharp drop. They remain at levels last seen in 2004. In SEJ continue to move upward from the low point early in the year. They remain slightly below the previous low in 2004 when I began publishing these graphs. The BI average prices have resumed an upward trend.
