Port Angeles real estate is selling.  I’m very pleased to announce the sale of another beautiful water view home west of Port Angeles with a stunning panoramic water view.  While this home sits up high on the hill as you can see in this photo, it is still close enough to the beach to hear the crashing waves, a sound that is music to the ears.  I wanted to share the news of this sale and a little about Port Angeles real estate just a few minutes west of Port Angeles, because most people don’t compare this area with Sequim.  Of course, there are fewer properties like this available out west, and this one is definitely a diamond discovered.

Port Angeles Real Estate is Selling

Port Angeles Real Estate Best Kept Secret

For years I have argued that this area just 10 to 15 minutes west of Port Angeles is one of our best kept secrets on the Olympic Peninsula.  But the vast majority of retirees have told me either that they want Sequim or that west of Port Angeles is simply too far out of town in the boonies.  Sequim real estate tends to get more attention than Port Angeles real estate.  And if you are a retiree who has been planning to retire in Sequim for many years, and you have fallen irrevocably in love with Sequim, then Sequim it is.

This story is about clients who looked at homes in Sequim and after seeing this home, it was the end of the search.  I represented this delightful couple from out of town as their buyer’s agent.  I love being a buyer’s agent, because I can give my clients 20 years of real estate law experience and many years of negotiating experience as a real estate broker.  But the greatest thing is I cost my clients nothing as the seller pays my commission, even though I work exclusively for my buyers against the seller’s interests.  You’ve got to love that.  I do.  My clients do.

Port Angeles Real Estate a Bargain

This home has two bedrooms plus a den, which could be a third bedroom or a guest room, and two bathrooms.  It has over 1,900 square feet all on one level with a large garage attached and a shed for yard work and supplies.  It has a large kitchen with an island with a chopping block surface.  The site plan for this home was well planned.  You get the idea immediately that this home sits in the perfect place and position on this extraordinary water view lot.  The water view is of the International waterway between Washington and British Columbia, and at night you can see the lights of Victoria across the Strait.   This is something many do not know about west of Port Angeles–it has majestic water views.  In this photo, I’m standing near the hot tub.  You could sit in the hot tub with a glass of wine and look out at one of the most beautiful expansive views of the ocean anywhere on the west coast.

This home was listed at $399,000, and it sold for somewhat less, but can you imagine what it would sell for on the California coast?  Port Angeles real estate is one of the best kept secrets on the west coast so please don’t tell anyone else.

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Is investing in Port Angeles real estate a good idea, and is the timing right?  No, if you buy the wrong house; no if you buy the right house in the wrong area; and no if you buy the right house in the right area at the wrong price.  But investing in Port Angeles real estate in this current market could be one of the best investments you ever make.  The emphasis is on being able to identify the right home in the right area and negotiating a price that pencils into a good long-term investment.

Port Angeles Real Estate

Port Angeles Real Estate Example

Buying a home as an investment means getting a reasonable rate of return on your money.  It means putting hard earned money into an asset that will bring you two things in the future:  1.) a cash flow that is a good rate of return, and 2.) the likelihood of a great long-term appreciation.  (Also see my previous article entitled Real Estate Investing and Creating Wealth.

It may be obvious that buying the right house in the right area are two keys to a good real estate investment, but it isn’t so obvious to all investors.  Many have purchased homes that they cannot sell many years later because they violated one or both of these two elements.  I can’t articulate in this short space how to identify a good house in a good area in Port Angeles real estate, but I know it when I see it.  This reminds me of what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote in his opinion in Jocobellis v. Ohio (1964):

“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["hard-core pornography"]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”

Port Angeles Real Estate Rentals

Rental rates are relatively low in Port Angeles, so if you get a 80% or higher mortgage, you won’t have a positive cash flow for any houses priced over $220,000, or less.  Payments on a mortgage of $176,000 (after a down payment of 20%) at 4.0% (today’s going rate) on a 25 year amortization schedule would mean payments of $928, not counting taxes and insurance.  A simple 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with 1,800 square feet in a nice area will rent for $800 to $1,200, depending on the house condition, quality, and location.  So it will be very hard to break even or have a positive cash flow for houses above $220,000.

Of course, if you pay all cash for your Port Angeles real estate, you won’t worry about getting a positive cash flow, but you still need a home that is very sellable in order to capture your appreciation on the day you do decide to sell.  This is a critical element of successful investing.  Trying to sell a home no one wants is a disaster, and you might be surprised to learn how many first time investors have made this mistake.

In my opinion, this is a great time to invest.  Just be sure you stick to the solid principles of investing in your Port Angeles real estate.

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Port Angeles real estate is a great buy, and most people know this is a buyer’s market.  The inventory of homes for sale is large, but the inventory of the best homes in the Port Angeles real estate market is not that big.  The market consists of a lot of average, unusual, or mediocre homes for sale and another category of homes:  beautiful custom homes in great areas listed at reasonable prices.  It’s this later category of homes that is selling in this Port Angeles real estate market.

Port Angeles Real Estate is Selling

Port Angeles real estate is selling to discerning buyers, and there are some extraordinary deals to be had right now.  The interesting thing is that the small percentage of homes that are beautiful and are in the best areas and reasonably priced are not going to last.  These homes are being cherry picked every single month, and those are the homes I’m selling every month.

Port Angeles Real Estate – Home and Shop

This Port Angeles home is a beautiful custom home with a kitchen you might want to live in.  Well, why write about it when I can just show you this video tour.

Port Angeles Real Estate for Sale

To see more photos and the full listing details of this home, go to Port Angeles custom home and shop for sale.   This custom home in the Port Angeles real estate market is brought to you by Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate and Chuck Marunde.

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“More sellers are dissatisfied with their real estate companies these days, griping mostly about the marketing of their home and some of the other services offered by the firm with which they’re working, according to a report released by J.D. Power and Associates this week.”  This quote is from the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch.  This probably does not surprise you.  There are as many complaints about real estate agents as lawyers and auto mechanics.  But I have observed there is an increasing dissatisfaction with listing agents.  Why is that?  There are several logical reasons.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way.  This is the worst real estate market for selling a home I’ve seen going back 30 years in real estate.   To state the obvious, it is harder to sell a home in this real estate recession.  That’s true in Sequim and Port Angeles as it is in so many parts of the country.  It’s no surprise that homeowners who hire a real estate agent to list and market their home are feeling dissatisfied when nothing happens, nothing meaning “the home hasn’t sold.”  But there are more substantive reasons so many sellers are not pleased with their agents.

There has been a dramatic shift in real estate sales and marketing.  Traditional real estate brokerage is struggling with this gigantic change, and many agents are going out of business, not just because the market is slow.  The vast majority of consumers readily acknowledge that print newspapers and magazines no longer are the big tools for selling homes.  The Internet and powerful technology has changed the game plan, and nearly all buyers are now using the Internet to search for and find their next home.  This has nullified the power of traditional sales media.  As consumer demand has shifted, tools have been developed to meet that demand, but the super majority of traditional real estate agents have not gotten on board.  It is such a huge shift, that agents must re-invent themselves, and you can image how uncomfortable that is for most agents.  Consumers may not comprehend the extraordinary changes in sales and marketing that have been taking place behind the scenes, but they do comprehend that something is wrong with a real estate model that uses old methods and old sales language to advertise their home, especially when the results are nil.  As a result, sellers find themselves dissatisfied with their agents.

There’s one other significant reason sellers are dissatisfied with agents and traditional real estate brokerage.  We live in a time when all of us have been so thoroughly bombarded by sales pitches all our adult lives, we feel like we can say, “Heard it all before, been there, done that.  Not interested.  Thank you.  Goodbye.”  Imagine for a moment that you could meet a professional real estate agent who has made the shift from the old to the new, and is using the most powerful technologies to sell homes today.  Is there anything he could say to you that would turn on a light bulb and suddenly give you the confidence to know that this agent knows how to market your home?  I can answer question.  The answer is, “No.”  Let me explain why.

People, and I do mean all of us, have become so skeptical, so jaded with sales pitches, lied to by so many sales ads in every industry, that we don’t know how to discern the real thing form the rest of the pack anymore.  Let me make the point another way.  If a gold salesman came to your home and told you he could sell you gold at a 30% discount over other salesmen, you would most likely send him away politely.  Who hasn’t learned, “If it sounds to good to be true, it is,” or “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”  But suppose another salesman came to your door and opened his brief case and showed you a dozen gold bricks that he said he would sell you right then and there for a 30% discount.  What would you do?  I know what the vast majority of people would do.  So skeptical are we that you and I would probably send that salesman packing, too.  We wouldn’t trust him, even if he was legitimate.

And so it is with Realtors.  Most sellers can’t tell the difference between me (and the other true professionals who have made the shift) and the rest of the pack still using the same techniques and sames pitches.  But I can assure sellers that there is a vast difference between Realtors these days.  Because of the dramatic shifts in marketing, the differences are greater today than ever.  Your job is to figure that out.  After all, how many days on market do you want your house to sit before the price is low enough to attract some offers?

[Megan Kelly did not actually interview Chuck Marunde.  This is his effort at humor, although, should you read this Megan, Chuck is available for an interview.]

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Nine of the most powerful real estate sites for Sequim real estate and Port Angeles real estate are online and available now.  Here is a brief video sharing the links to these sites with descriptions.  These sites are ideal for retirees, Coast Guard, Border Patrol, or anyone moving to the Sequim and Port Angeles area.  Want to know what listings are available and which ones have sold, where they are, and how much they sold for?  Want an online relocation package for Sequim or Port Angeles?  Want to see what is happening with the real estate market?  Would you like to search a fantastic online MLS service of both MLSs?  Or how about a site dedicated to Sequim real estate videos?  Looking for articles on real estate issues or legal issues?  How about 780+ articles at your fingertips?  Thinking about building your home?  You’ll find home designs, photographs, and articles on how to be sure you hire the best building.  Browse these sites and have fun as you plan your move to Sequim or Port Angeles.

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Port Angeles real estate is personified in this gorgeous custom home built on a one acre parcel that is available.

Port Angeles Real Estate for Sale:

Extraordinary custom home, living room with three-sided propane fireplace, vaulted ceiling, formal dining room has oak flooring, vaulted ceiling and French doors to back deck. Gourmet kitchen with designer lighting, custom cabinets and appliances. Master suite with bath featuring heated floor and Jacuzzi tub. Separate shower with heated floor and double shower heads. Library has built-in shelves and pocket doors.

See the full listing data sheet with photos:   Port Angeles Real Estate for Sale

There are nice homes for sale in the Port Angeles area, and then there are your ultimate custom homes built not by framers who became general contractors, but homes built by artists who love their work and cannot compromise quality if they wanted to.  It’s simply not in their genetic code.

Port Angeles Real Estate Video

Want a preview of this Port Angeles home for sale?   Here’s a little video for your viewing pleasure.

Port Angeles real estate in the current market is one of the best values for your dollar on the entire Olympic Peninsula.

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