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BigWaterProperties.com E-Newsletter
From Wayne Paulson
Specializing in Waterfront and Water View Properties
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NOTES FROM YOUR AGENT
Cupertino Effect
A few days ago I received an email message from my wife letting me know we were having “Hanna for dinner.” Since we don’t know anyone named Hanna, I assumed that the autocomplete feature on her smart phone had struck again. What had she been trying to type when the phone decided it had enough characters to make a guess? Stir fry? Probably not. Hamburgers? Maybe.
This sort of thing has been happening for long enough that there is a name for it, the Cupertino effect. The name comes from the tendency of some early spell checkers to change misspellings of the word cooperation to Cupertino. It probably is not a coincidence that Apple Computer is headquartered in Cupertino.
This happened most often in international communications where non-native English speakers were writing. For example, I don’t think it was intentional to say “Within the GEIT BG the Cupertino with our Italian comrades proved to be very fruitful.” (NATO Stabilisation Force, "Atlas raises the world," 14 May 2003).
So the next time you receive a message from a friend saying “let’s get together for lumber today” you’ll know what to say about the apparent shift from a meal to a building supply search. Cupertino effect!
Upper End Property Sales Improving
Since overall real estate sales have been picking up in our area in recent weeks, I wondered if the same 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 |
Save the Date for “Gone Fishing”
On Friday May 4, from 5:00 to 9:00 pm, the Poulsbo Historical Society and the Poulsbo Sons of Norway will be re-creating a Poulsbo tradition, a cod fish dinner at the Sons of Norway. The original dinner included a fishing derby at Agate Pass and frantic filleting of the catch for the dinner the next day. This time the Society and the Sons do the work. All you have to do is arrive ready to have fun.
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.
Want to help promote the event? Click on the link below to download a PDF flyer that you can print and post.
http://www.poulsbohistory.org/2012_Gone_Fishing.pdf
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FEATURED HOME – Indianola 3-Story Home
This month’s featured home is a spectacular 3-story water view home with exquisite craftsmanship. It’s located on the Indianola sand spit, a waterfront community with private beach access one block away. There is plenty of room for everyone in this 4332 square foot home. The huge, eat-in kitchen has slab granite countertops, hardwood floors, fireplace, maple cabinets, desk, work island and stainless steel appliances. The master bedroom has a private balcony, there are two family rooms and the entire 3rd floor is an entertainment area with a view balcony. It is a home designed with entertaining in mind.
To learn more, click on the link below:
http://www.bigwaterproperties.com/index.cfm/page/14252/Featured_Home.html
To see this home in person, contact me for a private showing.
If you would like to see more open houses this weekend, click on the link below to search for all the open houses available this weekend in any neighborhood you select on the map. Just let the host know you are working with me when you visit.
http://www.windermerepoulsbo.com/westsound-open-houses
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MARKET STATISTICS AND GRAPHS
Statistics
|
BainbridgeIsland |
25-Mar-12 |
Change From Year Ago |
|
Total Active Listings |
198 |
21.5% |
|
Average List Price |
$903,182 |
8.3% |
|
Average Market Days (Sold) |
114 |
-13.6% |
|
Average Market Days (Active) |
150 |
-3.2% |
|
Number of Pending New Sales |
12 |
300.0% |
|
Average Sales Price (Closed) |
$707,005 |
10.3% |
|
Sales Price to List Price Ratio |
99.59% |
5.3% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
North Kitsap |
25-Mar-12 |
Change From Year Ago |
|
Total Active Listings |
315 |
-8.2% |
|
Average List Price |
$353,692 |
-9.2% |
|
Average Market Days (Sold) |
102 |
-11.3% |
|
Average Market Days (Active) |
153 |
7.7% |
|
Number of Pending New Sales |
19 |
90.0% |
|
Average Sales Price (Closed) |
$271,905 |
-10.8% |
|
Sales Price to List Price Ratio |
100.00% |
3.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SouthEast Jefferson |
25-Mar-12 |
Change From Year Ago |
|
Total Active Listings |
425 |
-0.9% |
|
Average List Price |
$381,366 |
0.5% |
|
Average Market Days (Sold) |
223 |
46.7% |
|
Average Market Days (Active) |
211 |
-2.3% |
|
Number of Pending New Sales |
7 |
250.0% |
|
Average Sales Price (Closed) |
$254,889 |
-12.4% |
|
Sales Price to List Price Ratio |
100.00% |
7.6% |
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.
The sales rates were up in all three areas over the same period last year, with SEJ and BI sales rates up 250 percent and 300 percent respectively. They were up 90 percent in NK. Compared to February, SEJ sales were similar, while sales in NK and BI were up significantly.
To view the graphs, click on the link below:
http://bigwaterproperties.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&page=14270
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30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Dips Back Below 4.00 Percent
McLEAN, Va., March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates, fixed and adjustable, moving lower on weaker housing economic indicators as the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slid just below 4.00 percent for the week.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.99 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 29, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 4.08 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.86 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged 3.23 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.30 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.09 percent.
For more details click on the link below:
http://freddiemac.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=12329&item=126095
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USEFUL WEB SITES
As a board member of the Poulsbo Historical Society, I take notice of interesting historical items. I recently ran across a blog from the Smithsonian called Past Imperfect, history with all the interesting bits left in. It provides fascinating posts about a wide range of historical events and people. In a recent visit to the site, I found a post about hyperinflationary periods throughout history and another about the mysterious past of Colonel Parker, Elvis Presley’s manager. I even discovered that Edward Curtis, the well known photographer of Native American culture, was running a photography studio in Seattle when events set him on the path that defined the rest of his life.
Click on the link below to visit the site and see what discoveries you can make.
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/
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SPRING ISSUE OF WINDERMERE LIVING
The spring issue of Windermere Living is now available on-line. Click on the link below to see some of the loveliest homes in Windermere’s inventory.
http://issuu.com/windermererealestate/docs/windermere-living-spring2012/1
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CAN I BE OF HELP?
If you or someone you know wants to begin the process of buying or selling property in Kitsap orJeffersonCounty, I would like the opportunity to help. I understand this is a long process, so “we are just starting to think about it” is OK. And I’m never too busy for any of your referrals. You can reach me at:
wpaulson@windermere.com
Office: 360-779-5205 or 206-780-1500
Home Office: 360-437-9508
http://www.BigWaterProperties.com
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