Here is a real estate market report from the Northwest MLS.  December’s volume of pending sales around Western Washington nearly matched the total for the same month a year ago, which was the best December since 2006.  Sellers accepted offers from 4,359 buyers last month, only 40 fewer than a year ago when members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported 4,399 pending sales of single family homes and condominiums. In 2008, members notched 3,255 pending sales, down from 2007′s total of 3,950 pendings and the 2006 figure of 5,744 mutually accepted offers.  Eight counties had year-over-year increases in pending sales for December, with two others equaling the year-ago totals.  These are interesting real estate market stats in this current recession. (more…)

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Of the Sequim homes for sale, how many are selling and in what price ranges, and how does Sequim homes for sale (and sold) compare to Port Angeles homes sold?  I compiled data from the Sequim MLS (the Olympic Listing Service) and created this chart comparing sales of homes in both areas.  Unlike some charts where I only include site-built homes, this data includes all categories of homes, site-built, off-site built (manufactured and mobile), condos, townhouses, and duplexes.  The bars represent sales in each price range starting with $200,000 to $299,000, and so on.

Sequim Homes for Sale

Sequim Homes for Sale

It’s no surprise that the total Sequim homes sold from January 1 of this year through September 15th is more than the total homes sold in Port Angeles.  Sequim sales were 169 compared to 92 for Port Angeles.  How does that compare to prior years?  In our peak year of 2005, total Sequim home sales over the same time period were 366 and in Port Angeles total homes sold was 170.  So far this calendar year, Port Angeles home sales are 54% of Sequim’s, and of the total number sold, Port Angeles home sales represent 35% of homes sold with Sequim selling 65% of all homes.  In other words, 2/3rds of all homes selling are in Sequim and 1/3 are in Port Angeles.  If we weighted those numbers based on population, the difference would be even more significant, because the population of Sequim is only 4,000 while the population of Port Angeles is 25,000.  One might argue that the Sequim population is much larger with inclusion of the sales outside the city limits, but the same argument could be made of Port Angeles.

It is apparent that retirees generally prefer Sequim over Port Angeles even if it means paying a little more for their home or lot.  It’s also apparent that the vast majority of homes sold are in the price range of $200,000 to $399,000.  [I did not include homes sold under $200,000.  It's rare that any of my retiree clients find a home below $200,000 that they want to live in for the rest of their lives without having to do major upgrades or compromise in other ways.]  In fact, this means that over 90% of all homes sold so far this year are under $400,000.

Sequim Homes for Sale are More Expensive

Sequim homes for sale are slightly higher in the listing prices and sold prices than Port Angeles.  How much is hard to say with any statistical meaning, but my experience tells me that a comparable home in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range could easily be $25,000 to $50,000 less in Port Angeles.   If you’re looking at Sequim and Port Angeles for retirement, it’s good to know that the listing prices of Sequim homes for sale is slightly higher than Port Angeles homes.

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Here is a graph showing Sequim and Port Angeles monthly home sales from January 1 to July 31, 2010.  This data represents homes from $200,000 to $500,000, which represents the vast majority of all homes sold.

Clearly June has been the winning month, especially for Sequim with 32 homes sold and closed.  One argument for such good sales in June is that the tax credit was the big motivator, and that certainly would have been a motivator, but whether it was the main motivation is hard to say.  None of my buying clients, including three of my homes that closed in June, made their decisions based on the tax credit.  They were buying anyway, the low interest rates were a motivator, and June is typically one of the best selling months of the year.  In addition, some of the buyers in June in Sequim and Port Angeles are retirees who sold their homes back in California, Arizona, and Nevada back in March, April, or May.

One of my clients asked how many homes have sold on Bell Hill thus far in 2010.  The answer is easy.  Only two homes have sold on Bell Hill from January 1 through July 31st, 2010, and one of those homes was my listing at 1763 Doe Run, which sold for $399,000.  The other home that sold was a great value, tool, and it was at 632 Fox Hollow.

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The Sequim real estate market has been a difficult one to interpret, which probably could be said about most small real estate markets around the nation.  Here are some interesting stats for the past 90 days with a colorful chart.  Click on this chart to view a larger version.

Sequim Real Estate Market Activity

This chart shows us how the listing prices compare to the sold prices in Sequim for the past 90 days.  The green colored bars represent the average listing prices for each week during this three month period for the homes that actually sold, and the orange colored bars represent the actual sales prices of those sames homes.

As you would expect, the sales prices are below the listing prices, but what is interesting is that it is not as much as you might think in this slow market.  Homes are selling in Sequim for an average of 94% of their listing prices.  During this time, 35 homes sold below the listing price, 1 sold above the listing price (most likely the result of the parties agreeing to add back loan and closing costs to the price), and 7 sold right at the listing price.

Sequim Real Estate Market Sales

One qualification when interpreting this data is that the percentage of the sales price to the listing price is based on the last listed price.  Many listings start much higher and over time are reduced in price once or several times.  Perhaps the original listing price was too high, and if it was substantially over priced, then it would be interesting to compare the original listing price with the final sales price.

Sequim Real Estate Prices

Conclusion:  Sequim homes are selling for 94% of their last listed price.  This is good news for sellers, because it means they aren’t having to substantially discount their price to sell, at least not from the last listed or most recent listed price prior to the offer.  From a buyer’s perspective, it means one should not be expecting huge discounts of 10% to 20% off the listed price (assuming we are not talking about a new original listing price that is over priced).

You can subscribe to my weekly market reports for Sequim and Port Angeles and receive this report and several more in your email by subscribing to Sequim and Port Angeles Market Reports.  This is an excellent way to keep up with what is happening in the Sequim real estate market.

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This chart represents the total number of Sequim vs. Port Angeles homes sold from 2003 through 2009 in the price range from $200,000 to $800,000 (site built only).  Click on the chart for a full size view.

Sequim home sales in 2009 are below 2003 sales, and Port Angeles home sales in 2009 are just above 2003 levels.  It’s been a tough year for real estate, and we’re a long way from the record setting year in 2005.  Actually, 2005 was Sequim’s biggest year with 409 homes sold, but 2006 was Port Angeles’ best year with 255 homes sold.  [Source of Data:  Olympic Listing Service]

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The Sequim and Port Angeles Home Sales Report is brought to you by Chuck Marunde.  We are closing in on the end of 2009, so how do monthly home sales look this year?  Here’s a chart showing monthly home sales comparing Sequim and Port Angeles site built homes sold in the price range of $200,000 to $500,000.  This would include the vast majority of homes sold in our area.

Of course, it is no surprise that November and December are slow.  These are the slow winter months when buyers have turned their attention to family and to the holiday celebrations.  November through March tend to be the slower months as shown in this chart.  This year sales did not perk until May, but if the economy is healthy or on the mend, we could see buyers making their move in March of 2010.  We did see an unusual spurt of buyer activity in October, rather late in the year for so many buyers to make their close.  The increase in sales of homes in other parts of the country, low interest rates, and the $8,000 tax credit were all factors.

Some who are planning on buying here in the spring would be wise to make their move now when they won’t be bidding against so many other buyers.  If there is a time of year when the buyer’s negotiating power is at its highest, that time is now.

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