“Economists have predicted that home prices will continue to decline for the next five quarters as a growing number of foreclosure sales depress prices. According to Mr Yun, 45 per cent of transactions in December were distress sales at discounted prices.”   See Bargain Hunters Spur US Home Sales.   Price have dropped by large percentages in many areas of the United States, but how has that effected the Sequim and Port Angeles home prices?

In the stock market there is a mathematical tool called volatility.   For example, an option to purchase stock might have a very high volatility quotient, meaning the price of the option can fluctuate dramatically as the result of any small change in the price of the underlying stock.

I would suggest that home prices in Sequim and Port Angeles, which are obviously stable compared to so much of the country, have a low volatility quotient.   In other words, even though we depend heavily on buyers from outside the state, and even though those buyers have largely put their buying decisions on hold, the prices have not dropped here accordingly.   If prices here were measured directly by the number of buyers and their willingness to pay fair market value based on the national market, prices in Sequim and Port Angeles would be down something like 40%.   But they’re not.

On the Northern Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, here’s a vignette of prices of homes sold in 2006 and thus far in 2008 (as I gathered these stats in October, and not much has happened since then).

Clearly the prices in the Northwest have not crashed as in some other areas. Prices are far more stable in our market than in many areas.   I would suggest that there are three reasons the prices here are more stable.

First, the majority of sellers here are not desperate to sell at any price.   Second, we don’t have a huge foreclosure inventory here.   And third, this remains a very popular retirement area, and everyone knows that.   That means retirees will continue to move here as the market starts to come back.   Therefore, the majority of sellers are willing to wait this market out rather than have a garage sale they don’t need to have.

The price volatility quotient here is low, and our prices are fairly stable.   That’s just one more reason retiring here and owning a home makes good sense, good investment sense, especially compared to the stock market.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Port Angeles Average Listing Price
• Port Angeles Real Estate Sales in 2007

What is the Port Angeles average listing price? What is the current inventory? Here’s a great graphic answering those questions. One short coming is that the Trulia database does not include the entire Olympic Listing Service database of listings, but it is still useful. You can also search the Trulia database for Port Angeles homes for sale. Drag your mouse over the line on the chart to see the actual listing prices.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim and Port Angeles Price Volatility Low
• Port Angeles Real Estate Sales in 2007

The majority of sales in Port Angeles were in the price range of $175,000 to $300,000, and there were more single family homes sold in the lower price range than the upper price range. Over 50% of the houses sold are in three price ranges from $175,000 to $300,000–not a surprise. The more interesting statistic is that houses sold in 2007 in Port Angeles over the price of $400,000 accounted for only 9% of the market.

Sellers with homes priced above $400,000 will only sell to 9% of the entire buyer population! That will have implications for how a home is priced and marketed from day one. This is another major reason that overpricing a home in the beginning kills almost all chances of connecting with a buyer right away. Many FSBO’s, and even many real estate agents, think that the best strategy to sell a home above $400,000 is to price the home high and leave room for negotiating downward, but this is actually a strategy that guarantees 91% of the buyers won’t even come to the table.

It’s something to think about in this market.

[Data Source: Real Market Data, LLC]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim and Port Angeles Price Volatility Low
• Port Angeles Average Listing Price