Sequim Real Estate & Homes For Sale – Sequim, Washington

Welcome to Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate, a Branch Office of Adamas Realty

The Sequim weather report is cold.  It’s 34 degrees F, and the sun is out.  Most of the snow we had over a week ago has melted.  Here’s the interesting news.  The Sequim weather (snow and low temps) has not put a damper on buyers who continue to shop and buy homes in Sequim.

Sequim Weather Not a Damper on Home Sales

We had a few days of snow, which was a surprise, but I was also surprised and delighted to submit an offer on a Sequim home during the snow storm.  I also have a transaction closing today, and yesterday I showed houses all day to a couple from out of town.  Saturday we’ll look at more houses.  Some of my clients have expanded their home search for a water view home beyond Sequim to Port Ludlow.  I sold one home in Port Ludlow, and will be showing two more this Saturday.

Sequim Weather – Still Showing Homes

Sequim WeatherRetirees are clearly still planning to move to Sequim in significant numbers, and even though we are in the middle of the winter season, retirees have not stopped their careful process of searching for their perfect retirement home.  I know many of us often say, “there’s no such thing as the perfect home,” and that may be true, but it sounds better than “ideal retirement home.” 

It’s true that it is rare that anyone will find the perfect home, although it has happened.  It’s more often the case that a home has nearly all of the features a couple want, and what the home doesn’t have can be added or compensated for in some way.

Yesterday the homes I showed did not include the perfect retirement home for my clients.  Three of the homes were fun to look at, but did not pass my client’s test.  One home had an absolutely stunning panoramic water view, but it was an older manufactured home, which turned my clients off.  A couple of the homes had what I call “unconventional” floor plans, partly the result of remodeling that occurred in one home built in 1954. 

I find it fascinating that homes with unconventional floor plans are priced the same as new homes with great modern floor plans.  Of course, when I put it that way, it is obvious that a home with an unconventional floor plan should be priced less, and substantially less in some cases, but apparently that it not so obvious to the owners and/or their agents.  If you’ve been out looking at lots of homes, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about here.

Sequim Weather – Don’t Let It Stop You

If you’re planning to retire in Sequim, don’t let this cold (and recently snowy) Sequim weather stop you from coming to look at homes.  In my opinion, looking at homes before the crowd arrives in the spring is a good idea.  The one home you might fall in love with will undoubtedly be loved by other retirees who think like you do.

 

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  • Filed under: Sequim Weather
  • A Sequim real estate broker who practiced as a real estate attorney in 1994, started the first Sequim real estate website dedicated to giving away free real estate information, law, forms, checklists, and guidance on buying and selling real estate.  In 1994 the world wide web had just begun to go public, and building a website back then was not as easy as it is today.  He also published a print newsletter letter to help Realtors.  Eighteen years later Chuck Marunde’s online websites, blogs, eBooks, videos, and photographs have grown into the largest source of real estate information for buyers and sellers in the Sequim and Port Angeles area.  Click on the image below to read the full 1994 article, the beginning of what has turned out to be something very big, especially for buyers from outside the Sequim area.

    Sequim Real Estate Broker

    Sequim Real Estate Broker

    Sequim Real Estate Broker

    I’m Chuck Marunde, and I absolutely love helping buyers.  One way I’ve been doing that for my entire career, going back to the mid-’70s when I first became a Realtor, is to give everything away, including information on buying and selling real estate, checklists, legal issues in real estate, case law, guides to buying and selling real estate, forms, and lessons learned in the trenches on negotiating price, foreclosures, short sales, contingencies, and unique issues to Sequim and Port Angeles areas (septics, wells, water flow, water quality, drainage).  In 18 years I have not stopped writing and posting and giving away real estate information, and I can unequivocally share that buyers tell me they love having all this information available 24/7 from their home computers absolutely free and with no obligation to register their confidential information.

    Sequim Real Estate Broker

    I love being a Sequim real estate broker, and I’ll continue to post articles, information, and powerful tools for buyers, and many of these you will find directly on this site on the right side.  If there is anything that you would like to request, please email me, and if I can do it, I will.  Free of course.  By the way, once in a while someone will ask me what do I get in return?  Nothing up front, but I’ve learned that in the long run, buyers appreciate the work I do for them, and many retain me as their Sequim real estate broker and buyer’s agent.

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    The question, “Do people buy homes in Sequim in the winter months?” came up recently, and with this recent snow, it certainly is a relevant question.  The short answer is yes, but here’s a fuller explanation of who, what, and when on the subject of buying and selling homes in Sequim during the winter with another nice graphic illustration brought to you by the research staff of Chuck Marunde.

    Homes in Sequim

    Homes in Sequim

    Homes in Sequim and Peak Sales Years

    A chart like this tells its own story.  Two quick explanations are necessary.  The months are shown in the bars as consecutive months, so for example in the first grouping of bars we have November and December of 2004 plus January of 2005, which keeps the months together.  Also I only include homes that sold for $150,000 or more.  You can’t buy much for less than $200,000 in Sequim, but I included low priced homes, some of which are probably foreclosures.

    Homes in Sequim sold during the winter months of November, December, and the following January show us an interesting pattern.  The peak year for the sale (closing) of November homes in Sequim was 2006.  The peak year for the sale of December homes in Sequim was 2005.  The peak year for the sale of January homes in Sequim was 2006.

    This is why I consider 2005 the peak year for home sales in Sequim.  Even the peak closings in January of 2006 were the result of deals written in November and December of 2005 since most transactions close 30 to 60 days after mutual acceptance.

    Homes in Sequim and January Sales

    The homes in Sequim that closed in January confirm a few things for us.  It turns out 2009 was the trough for lowest closings in January.  Only 11 homes sold in January of 2009.  That reflects buyers who were looking at homes in the prior two to three months.  And 2010 wasn’t much better with only 12 homes sold in January.  Interestingly enough 2011 sales jumped way up in January to 22.

    Here we are today, the 21st of January, 2012, and so far this month we only have 3 closings.  What can we make of that?  We have 7 closing days left in the month, and closings often happen near the end of the month, so we shall see.  Check back at the end of the month, because I will update the number of closings in January.  One preliminary interpretation I will share.  I would expect January of 2012 to have  low numbers for Sequim, because in the summer and fall of 2011 retirees stepped up their purchases from the prior two years.  They told me that they had put their plans on hold for the past couple of years while they waited for the economy to begin to recover and the status of their retirement funds to stabilize, but after waiting, many have decided it’s time to move on and buy a home in Sequim and retire, regardless of the uncertainty in the economy and in the world.

    Now you know about homes in Sequim that are selling in the winter months.

     

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    Sequim Weather Calls for Snow! Cool!

    Sequim weather is snow!  It is a surprise, and the last three days have dumped a lot of snow on Sequim.  Our Sequim weather is normally much dryer, although this time of year rain is not unusual.

    Sequim Weather and Snow

    Sequim Weather

    Sequim Weather Cold

    I took this photo on Dryke Road in Sequim.  Ehad!  Snow everywhere, and plenty of snow ball fights and even sledding in Robin Hill Park.  The temperature has been freezing at night, and a few degrees below freezing.  We have had winters in Sequim with no snow at all, and we’ve had winters with snow that lasted two days to two weeks.  Next calls for 40′s and rain, so all this snow may be melted by then.  We shall see.  This winter the Sequim weather surprised a few of us.

    Update:  Two days later and the snow is melting rapidly.  It’s much warmer and some rain is helping to melt the snow.  Oh well, Sequim weather is somewhat unpredictable.

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  • Filed under: Sequim Weather
  • How a Home for Sale is Advertised

    How a home for sale is advertised and promoted to prospective buyers is a fascinating study.  Buyers often share their frustrations about how different a home appears when they see it compared to the photos or descriptions they saw online.  I’ve been watching this since the mid-1970s when I first got in real estate sales in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Then I observed how a typical home for sale is advertised as I lived in Spokane, Las Vegas, Puyallup (in the Tacoma-Seattle metropolis), and for the last 18 years in Sequim and Port Angeles.

    Home for Sale Ads

    When you’re looking online for your perfect retirement home, you’ll undoubtedly filter through hundreds of homes.  It’s tough to narrow that search down to half a dozen to one dozen homes, isn’t it?  The job is made harder if descriptions or photos of a home for sale are not precisely accurate depictions of what you will see in a live 3D version when you get here.

    I had a client call me from southern California to tell me he was going to get on an airplane and come to Sequim to look at a home that sounded absolutely perfect.  He said the advertisement described it as a bungalow with a traditional kitchen and a water view.  One of the photos showed a nice water view.  I told my client on the phone, “Before you spend the money and time to fly here, let me run out to Discovery Bay and look at the home, take a few photos for you, and call you back with my impression.  In other words, I’ll be your boots on the ground before you come to Sequim.”  He liked that, and what I found out saved him the trip.  The house was so old, it was barely inhabitable.  The kitchen was traditional if traditional means 1934.  There was no water view from ground level or from any of the windows in the house, but there was a peek-a-boo water view if I stood up on the hill behind the house with my feet level with the peak of the roof.  The water view shared a lot of power and telephone wires and a large shop building on a neighboring property.

    Home for Sale Advertisements True or False

    Today on the business news the commentator boasted that Bank of America stock was up 16% this year.  This reminds me a lot of the way that some homes are advertised.  What the commentator represented was technically true, but actually was the opposite of the real story from a longer term perspective.  This graphic illustration makes the point by showing the real story of Bank of America (BAC) stock.

    Home for Sale

    Home for Sale Representations

    It can be hard for buyers from outside the Sequim area to view homes online with photographs and limited descriptions, but I’m here to help if you need more photos or more information about what is adjacent to the home or what the views really are.  I can be your boots on the ground and preview the property for you, email you photos, and share my observations of the property, it’s condition, and what the views are around the home.  I love doing that, so please don’t hesitate to ask.  I’d love to help you find the perfect home for sale and make it your dream home.

     

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    Sequim Houses for Sale

    Sequim Houses for Sale can be searched on Sequim’s most powerful and easy-to-navigate MLS site.  Here is a fun example of a search for Sequim houses for sale at $500,000 and above.  There are 44 current MLS listings for homes priced above $500,000.  Click on this image to see the actual search results where you can open up the details and also view the full photos.  There are some gorgeous homes in this search.

    Sequim Houses for Sale

    Sequim Houses for Sale

    Sequim Houses for Sale in Luxury Market

    Sequim does have some beautiful luxury homes for sale, but if you’re a buyer you will be glad to hear that the percentage of buyers for these more expensive homes is a very small percentage of the buyer population.  That is not encouraging news for sellers, but it means this is a super buyer’s market in the luxury home market, and that is good news for buyers.

    Sequim Houses for Sale – Super Buyer’s Market

    I thought you might be interested to learn how many Sequim houses for sale in this price range of $500,000 and above actually sold in calendar year 2011.  How many would you guess?  The answer is 19.  Nineteen.  That’s not very many.  That’s why this is such a super buyer’s market.  As a qualified buyer in this price range, you have tremendous negotiating power.

    Change your parameters on your search and have some fun looking at Sequim houses for sale in whatever price range you set.

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    Email:  ChuckMarunde@gmail.com

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    A Message From Chuck Marunde

    Sequim Real Estate Market Reports

    From Southern CA to Sequim

    My husband and I went to Sequim intending to interview several Realtors to find one to help us locate and buy a home in Sequim. We knew we wanted someone we could trust and who would have our best interests in mind. Since we would be handling the transaction from S. California this was very important to us. We met Chuck and looked no further. We felt a connection right away and spent some time looking at homes together so Chuck could get a feel for what we wanted. Well, we left Sequim having made an offer on a home which the owner accepted. Chuck has helped us through the purchase process. We are positive it would not have gone so smoothly without his help. We give him 4 thumbs up. Cathie and Wally

    From Georgia to Sequim

    My husband and I were interested in relocating from Georgia to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, and while we were staying at an Inn in Port Angeles, Washington, the Innkeepers gave us the name of Chuck Marunde as a contact for helping us with our real estate needs. Upon meeting Chuck we hit it off and immediately became friends and felt a real sense of trust in Chuck handling our wants and needs as far as real estate goes. We gave him, for lack of a better word, "unrealistic" demands in this unstable economy, and by the next morning Chuck had a list of properties that would fit those "demands". Chuck was able to help us not only find a home and property that suited our needs as a large family, but he went above and beyond what he needed to do to ensure that our offer was presented (and accepted) in a timely fashion. In the past 25 years of dealing in real estate, Chuck is, without a doubt, the most prompt, reliable, trustworthy, and friendly professional we have ever done business with! We will always use Chuck from here on out for all our real estate needs. Larry and April Leach Sequim, Washington

    From California to Sequim

    "Selling a house remotely is not an easy task especially in this market. But Chuck sold our house and made the transaction effortless. The people that he found were perfect, too, and that makes us very happy. Now the weight of having to sell our house is off our shoulders and we can finally feel settled and enjoy our new location. Chuck is our HERO!" Phil and Janet

    Why Chuck Marunde?

    Andy Romano is a successful motion picture character actor with over 40 years in "the Biz." Mr. Romano has a home in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, but he chooses to live most of the time here in Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula in the great Pacific Northwest. Why? In his own words, "Because it's even more beautiful and surrounded by more beauty in this incredibly peaceful and quiet place. With respect to real estate agents or brokers, well my friend Chuck Marunde, owner of Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, is hands down the best there is." Andy Romano

    Client Testimony

    "I’ve known Chuck Marunde for several years. My wife and I bought and sold one house through his services, and now have another listed through him for sale. Whether Chuck was representing us as the buyer or seller, I am confident he always had our best interests at heart. He helped us set or negotiate a reasonable price, and made sure there was a clear and open line of communication. He responded rapidly to email and phone calls and always knew the best person to contact for the various services involved in a transaction. I have worked with quite a few real estate agents and Chuck is right at the top of my list of good ones. Actually, Chuck is first and foremost just a good person, and he carries his personal honesty and integrity over into his profession. He has the greatest depth of experience in real estate of any agent or broker I have known. His years of practicing real estate law prior to becoming a broker are evident in the meticulous care he takes with the process and documentation. I am impressed by the way Chuck has integrated internet services into his real estate business. He probably knows more about this process than any other realtor in the country. In this tight market it is important to use every possible means to spread the word about available properties…to reach the few people who might be interested in a particular property." Steve L.

    Glad for Atty Experience

    “When Chuck told me I not only got a Realtor with decades of experience, but I also got his knowledge and experience as a real estate attorney for 20 years totally free, I couldn’t believe it. But it was true, and I strongly recommend Chuck to anyone dealing with real estate.” Susan

    Buyer’s Agent

    "We contacted Chuck to be our buyer’s agent for our purchase of a home in the Sequim area. Throughout the entire process he was enjoyable to work with, and we found him to be exceptionally knowledgeable, thorough and diligent on our behalf. He was in constant contact and always readily available and responsive by phone and email. We were buying from out of state and unable to cover the various steps in the process, so we really appreciated Chuck’s willingness to personally handle what we needed to have done. He coordinated and attended the various inspections, followed up on our numerous questions and requests relating to the sale (including measuring rooms and sending photos), and even conducted the final walk through of the property for us. We particularly valued his advice on a number of different issues that arose – and that he handled for us – during the transaction. In short, we were very impressed with Chuck and would recommend him highly to anyone who is considering purchasing (or selling) in the Sequim area." Ed and Sharlene

    Financial Planner Endorsement

    “Chuck Marunde’s level of expertise in real estate investment is amazing. His knowledge, experience and legal training have given me a dramatic advantage in real estate investing. He works hard to stay on the cutting edge of real estate marketing, sound advice and value-added service for his clients.” Kirk Wald, Financial Planner

    Enjoyable Experience

    "Our experience in working with Chuck Marunde was very enjoyable, he is a knowledgeable, dedicated professional who knows the real estate market extremely well. The thing we like most about Chuck is that he is a realist, he is very well versed in what is going on in the current volatile market and he understands "true value" in the market. Chuck is a honest and loyal leader in his field who really goes the extra mile to please the customer at every level. Having the legal background is a real bonus when it comes to negotiating a real estate transaction, Chuck is the guy you want in your corner when you come to the buying table." Sara and Ken

    From Arizona

    "We are ex-Washington residents who currently live in Arizona. We had been searching the Puget Sound area four years for a waterfront property to build a retirement home when we first contacted Chuck Marunde through his website. We had made multiple trips to various areas but most of the Realtors we contacted simply sent us an email, provided no follow up and did next to nothing to help us locate a property. On our first trip to Port Angeles, after connecting with Chuck, we purchased our dream property. We now own a high bank waterfront lot overlooking the Straight of Jaun de Fuca, and are excited to become part of the Peninsula community." Paul and Linda

    I’m Coming to Sequim

    "Chuck, I visit your site just about every day to see what is going on in Sequim. Although I have never been there, it is on my short list for a retirement home in 2014, when I turn 66. (Save me a house!). I do hope you are still in business then so you can help me find a little house for me and my cats with a view of some water. :-)" Ruth

    From New Mexico to Sequim

    Over a year ago, during a visit to the Olympic Game Farm, we developed what we eventually called the “Sequim Syndrome.” We live in New Mexico and decided Sequim was where we wanted to live in retirement. On our second visit to Sequim, we met with Chuck and asked him to help us. Chuck's web site provides such amazing search capabilities. Chuck's site also contains a 1000 blog postings and a real estate video series detailing buying real estate in Sequim. We bought Chuck's book about Sequim real estate and set out to follow his advice carrying on an ongoing email and phone conversation with Chuck. Doing our due diligence “Marunde style” and using his MLS search site, we came up with about 50 homes that met our needs. We narrowed the list down to 15 properties that best met our needs. We came back to Sequim a third time with our list in hand, and Chuck spent two days with us showing us all the homes on our list. Not only did Chuck help us find that dream home, he spent time to educate us about the quality of construction, fair market values of various properties, home layouts, and the joys of Sequim living. We had a great time as we traveled from house to house. By mid afternoon of the second day, my wife said we had found “the house.” Chuck helped us draft our offer and sent our offer to the seller's agent. It turned out there was a second offer made on the property at the same time. Chuck's help to make a clean offer paid off. At breakfast two days later, we got a call from Chuck saying our offer had been accepted by the sellers. We are now back home in New Mexico. Chuck attends every inspection on our behalf, updating us at every turn by email and phone. Our dream home is becoming a reality because of Chuck and because we were smart enough to follow his advice. We absolutely would NOT have been able to do this without Chuck Marunde's expertise and enthusiasm. We recommend Chuck to everyone planning a move to Sequim, Port Angeles, or anywhere on the Olympic Peninsula. Chuck is a gold mine of information and expertise for home buyers everywhere, not just on the Olympic Peninsula. Larry and Shirley

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