If you could design a Sequim real estate site that would allow you as a buyer to search 100% of all the Sequim homes for sale and Sequim lots for sale, what would that site look like?  Here’s what my buyers have been telling me for several years.  They want to be able to go online anytime of the day or night and search the entire MLS in the Sequim and Port Angeles area, but that’s not all.  They also want all the available information and photos (and videos) while maintaining their own privacy without being forced to give a total stranger their name and email address.

Sequim Real Estate Search Options

I’ve created and programmed a Sequim real estate MLS search site with the precise features retirees have been telling me they want:

1. A Sequim real estate site that includes 100% of all the homes and land listed for sale
2. The ability to search with their own search parameters, including all the details of the home and the views, and literally over 100 possible search combinations
3. Search results that show the full listing details and all about the property
4. Search results that include all of the photos in a listing in a large photo format on a high resolution site
5. Search results that give you a map showing precisely where each listing is located
   
6. Results that give you options for more information
7. Results that give you a virtual tour option, if there is a virtual tour
8. Results that give you the ability to request a showing of the property
9. Results that let you quickly calculate the monthly mortgage payment AND
10. Freedom to search the site as often as you want without being forced to register your personal and confidential information
11. The ability to save your searches and organize the homes you want to view when you arrive in Sequim.

This second to the last item is one that hundreds of clients over many years have told me that they really want and like in a Sequim real estate MLS search.  But here’s something very few buyers know, and I bet real estate agents have never shared with you before. 

Sequim Real Estate MLS – The Dirty Secret

Sequim real estate agents and agents around the U.S. are told by salesmen for companies selling online MLS and IDX data services that we must force you, the buyer, to register on our sites in order to “capture” you as a potential client, and so we can then harass you in the following weeks and months, bombarding you with emails and phone calls.  I object to that obnoxious approach.  My buyer clients do not like being forced to register just to look at the Sequim real estate MLS and all the homes and land for sale. 

I don’t care what the salesmen and marketing experts may say about how I should “capture” you, I serve my clients, and manipulative sales techniques are not part of my business model.  Does this mean I will miss out on some clients?  Probably, but I also think it means I will pick up clients who appreciate the fact that I respect their privacy and don’t force them to register.  By the way, you can register if you want to save your searches for future reference, but you can search my MLS site anonymously forever, if you want to.  Almost all MLS search sites require you to register right away or after three searches.  I am one of the few real estate agents in the entire U.S. who gives clients the ability to do this without registering.

Sequim Real Estate Agent Gives MLS Away Free

I wanted to share this, because sometimes if you do something for clients, they do not necessarily know you have done something for them unless you tell them.  My Sequim and Port Angeles MLS search site is not only the best technologically with easy navigation, super photos, and great options, it gives you something few agents will give you–the ability to search anonymously and maintain your privacy.  This Sequim real estate MLS search was designed specifically with you and your preferences in mind.

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The Sequim MLS shows us data for Sequim homes listed for sale and sold.  If you click on this image below, you will get the enlarged version, and you’ll see a detailed Sequim MLS market report for all listings in the county.  If you drill down to the 3 bedroom listings, which I’ve marked with a red arrow, you’ll see there are currently 644 active listings, 247 have been sold this calendar year, and the average listing prices and selling prices.  The data shows that homes in this category have sold for 94.57% of their listed price, but that is misleading.  That calculation is based on the last listed price, not the original listing price, which may have been much higher.

Sequim MLS Data is Revealing

Sequim MLS – Homes Listed and Sold

In this 3 bedroom category, the Sequim MLS tells us that the average days on market (DOM) were 116 days, not nearly as high as one might think in this market.  As I have written elsewhere, retirees are looking for homes in this category, and the best homes in the best areas at the best prices are selling within reasonable periods of time.

Sequim MLS Says Local Market Good

Skewing the data somewhat are homes that have been taken out of the MLS, and in this category 26% of the listings expired rather than sold.  Logically these would be the homes that have been on the market much longer, perhaps several hundred days.

The Sequim MLS tells us that the real estate market is generally weak but it also tells us retirees are still buying.

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I’ve showed several Sequim foreclosures recently to several clients. One of these properties is a nice five acre parcel in a great area, and while there is no water or mountain or valley view, the property sits in a quiet and private place. It is ideal for the person who wants privacy and ideal for the person who wants some animals, maybe a horse or two or cows, Alpacas, or sheep.

Sequim Foreclosures

The shortcoming of this Sequim foreclosure is not the property itself and not the listing price.  The challenge is the house.  The house was built in the ’70s and needs major work and a small garden wheel barrel full of one dollar bills.  The floor plan also is not what the majority of people want.  And as happens often with a Sequim foreclosure, the prior owners left the house in a seriously run down condition.

What about other Sequim foreclosures?

The other Sequim foreclosure is also a nice piece of property with over two acres.  The downside with this listing is that the manufactured home needs major rehab work, so much so that it may not be inhabitable.  The carpet has been completely ripped out and the sub-flooring emits a strong cat urine stench, and the stains in the flooring can be seen everywhere.  The walls need replacing in much of the home, and so much of the rest of the home needs replacing, in my opinion this home is a tear down.  Buyers looking at Sequim foreclosures often find it a frustrating experience.

These listings are priced in the $140,000 to $170,000 range.  Considering the amount of money and labor required to bring these properties up to standard living conditions, they are not such good deals in my opinion.  By the time you put $75,000 to $100,000 in each of them, you’re up to a price that could buy you a nice home that doesn’t need all that work, money, and stress.

Sequim foreclosures are not where you’ll find your best buy in this market.

Some of the best homes and the best prices, all things considered, are currently listed in the MLS by a Realtor.  I’m not trying to sell Realtors here, but if you’re looking for value and a nice move-in condition home, this is the truth.  If you’re looking to buy a Sequim home, my suggestion is that you browse SearchSequimMLS.com.  There are some diamonds hidden in this large MLS inventory of Sequim homes for sale.  If you see one you like and have questions, shoot me an email at Sequim Real Estate Agent, and I’d be glad to answer your question if I can.  There are some Sequim foreclosures out there that could work for you.

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Sequim has some favorite neighborhoods where beauty and location and heavenly views all converge.  Happy Valley is one of Sequim’s special neighborhoods.  Happy Valley sits high above Sequim in elevation but is a valley of its own with a variety of developments small and large, horse ranches, water view homes of the rich and famous (on west and south Bell Hill overlooking Happy Valley), and a lot of happy retired Californians.  This is a photo of part of Happy Valley I took a couple of days ago.  Perhaps you can get a sense of what this valley is all about.

Would you like to see what homes and land are for sale in Happy Valley?  You can use this MLS map search of Sequim, and just drag the map directly to the south of Sequim.  You’ll see “Bell Hill” on the map, and then just zoom in on the map to the west and south of Bell Hill.  All of the homes for sale will be represented on the map by an upside down tear drop.  Click on any tear drop to see the full details and photos.

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There are 855 lots for sale in the Sequim and Port Angeles areas as of this writing.  These are lots listed in the Olympic Listing Service MLS, which is searchable through my website that includes all lots listed in the area  (Search all Sequim and Port Angeles Lots for Sale).  Here’s the challenge that buyers tell me they have all the time, including my buyer clients who shared this with me today.  They use my online search, or one of the other agent’s MLS search sites, and they put their parameters into the search, but they still don’t find the ideal lot until driving around for a long time.

In other words, some lots do not show up online with a search, either because the listing agent has made a mistake in completing the data fields when he put the listing in the MLS, or it just doesn’t seem to rise to the top amidst all the other lots for sale, and there are many.  Many lots have been on the market for a long time.

But even if the perfect lot is in the MLS, you may still miss it.  This has happened over and over again with buyers, and often they don’t find the perfect lot until they stumble upon it while driving around with me or on their own.  Look, if a great lot is for sale but it gets no additional marketing that reaches Realtors with buyer clients, and the marketing doesn’t reach potential buyers directly, it just doesn’t cross our radar, unless we stumble upon it driving around.

Some lots that are for sale and off the main roads will have a small sign with an arrow on the main road, but who chases every for sale sign with an arrow?  No one I know.  If you’re looking for that perfect lot but haven’t found it, just email me and ask me to join you in searching for that lot.  I do drive around a lot looking at homes and land that have not crossed my radar in the MLS.  I’d love to help.  I may already know of a lot with that mountain or water view you want.

If you’re buying land, you will also want to do your due diligence to be sure this lot will work for you and has no problems.  See my Land Checklist.

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Sequim listed homes for sale are conveniently shown on this map for your easy viewing and searching.  If you see something that catches your attention, just click on the image and it will open up to a full page of photos and details.  You can also scroll forward and backward to look at more listings. As always, I’m just trying to make your search easy and enjoyable, not to mention productive.  Another courtesy offered by Chuck Marunde.

Get this widgetSequim real estate

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