The Sequim real estate market was a buyer’s market when I first wrote this article back on July 4th, 2007, and of course it still is today as I edit this article, and today is October 2nd, 2010.   I wrote then, “Is it a seller’s market or a buyer’s market? Of course, that depends on who you talk to, because we’ve had a few houses in the MLS that sold in 4 days, but we also have houses on the market for over 240 days. There are some houses that are over priced, and there are some that are undiscovered by the ideal buyer. The market is clearly much slower this year than 2005 when anything sold in short order. I think anyone coming from out of state is going to find some steals. More stats on this later.”

Sequim Real Estate Market Slow

We did not know in the summer of 2007 that the Sequim real estate market would be caught up in a national real estate recession that would continue for so long with no apparent end in sight.  As of this update (10/2/2010) there are homes that have been listed for sale in the Sequim real estate market for over 1,000 days.  One has been on the market for 1,559 days, another for 1,169 days, nine more for over 1,000, and 72 on the market for 500 days or longer.

Sequim Real Estate Market Bad for Sellers

Obviously, this is bad news for sellers.  But there is much more to the story.  Homes that haven’t sold for four years in the Sequim real estate market have issues.  I know, that’s a term we normally reserve for human psychology, but it seems to fit here.  What I mean when I say some homes have issues is that these homes have some major reason buyers have been repelled.  The issues are not hard to recognize when you walk through one of these homes.  For example, one home may be in an areas that doesn’t appeal to 95% of the buyers, like 25 miles west of Port Angeles, or with a gravel pit next door, or other less dramatic but similar problems.  In the Sequim real estate market we have homes that were built with extremely unique or odd floor plans, and these simply don’t appeal to the vast majority of buyers.  Sellers often say, “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

You may be thinking that the reason homes aren’t selling is because we are in a recession.  True.  We are.  But I’m writing specifically about homes that have been on the market for years.  These homes have issues in addition to the fact that the Sequim real estate market suffers.

Sequim Real Estate Market a Buyer’s Market

The Sequim real estate market is bifurcated.  In other words, there are homes that are selling within a reasonable period of time at reasonable prices (consisting of maybe 5% of the market), and then there is the rest of the market (consisting of roughly 95% of the listings).  Retirees are still moving to Sequim and Port Angeles and buying houses, not in the large numbers of 2005, but they are still buying.  But they are cherry picking the best houses in the best areas at the best prices.  The rest of the houses sit on the market for a long time, and the homes with issues are still on the market even beyond 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, and 1,000 days.

The Sequim real estate market is a buyer’s market for retirees who are qualified buyers and don’t have to sell their current homes.

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• Is The Sequim Real Estate Market Turning?