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Percentage of Short Sales for Washington State

April 27th, 2012 by Rich Jacobson

The good folks over at KCM Blog have recently published this graphic which shows the Nationwide State-by-State comparison of the percentage of short sales to overall sales.

Nice to see that Washington State is under the 10% mark. From my perspective as a local real estate broker, it sure seems like the percentage of short sale properties are much higher than that. But I’ll trust RealtyTrac for their accuracy. It would appear that the number of short sales and foreclosures are slowly decreasing in our market. Since our shadow inventory is considerably less than other States, we should hopefully start to see our overall home valuations starting to improve slightly (1% to 2% over the next year).

Homes-for-sale-in-Kitsap-County-WA

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, and Crabbing in the Hood.

E-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com or call: (360) 440-4758

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Home Values Skyrocketing in Kitsap County WA!

April 25th, 2012 by Rich Jacobson

Okay, so I got your attention, right?

Amazing the things some real estate folks will say to allure, intice, and otherwise cajole you into taking some kind of action.Homes-for-sale-in-Poulsbo-WA

How about this one:

“Now is a great time to buy a home in Silverdale WA!”

Heard that one before? I bet you have. Is it any wonder that my industry suffers from a lack of trust and credibility?

Oh, you’re a Seller? No problem.

“Now is a great time to sell a home in Silverdale WA!”

Ever see the movie “Liar, Liar” with Jim Carrey? He plays the part of a lawyer (yet another profession with reputation issues!) who can’t lie for 24 hours because of a magical birthday wish his son makes.

Imagine if real estate agents couldn’t lie, or embellish, or bend the truth ever so slightly…

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my many years as a licensed real estate professional here in Kitsap County WA, it’s the importance and value of telling my clients, or prospective clients, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

This doesn’t mean that I abandon all sense of professional decorum and tact when I explain to a prospective Seller that their cherished palatial estate out in Seabeck WA is hopelessly caught up in a 70′s retro time warp. Or that I will willingly agree that your home over in Tracyton is worth more than the Hearst Castle, when in reality, I know it would be a miracle just to sell it at a price remotely close to the County appraised value.

As real estate professionals, we have an obligation and duty to tell people the truth, not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. In order for them to make wise, informed decisions, we owe them solid, reliable market data. Not some ‘spin’ or embellished version of what we wished the market was like. But a strong dose of reality.

“Is now a great time to buy a home in Poulsbo WA?”

Quite possibly. It just depends. There are always opportunities out there for someone, regardless of the particular market dynamics we’re experiencing at the time.

“Is now a great time to sell my Port Orchard WA home?”

It could be. It depends on a number of important factors, one being what is best for your own unique situation.

“Have home prices hit bottom yet?”

Homes-for-Sale-in-Kitsap-County-WA

Ah, that’s the proverbial $100,000 dollar question! Some industry prognosticators have already cried wolf. And another. All too many times we don’t really know we’ve hit bottom until we’re already on the rebound, and the opportunity to buy investment properties at dirt cheap prices is past.

So what’s your story? Are you a First-Time Home Buyer sitting on the fence, waiting for home prices to drop even further? Reaching retirement and wanting to downsize? Wondering if you should invest a portion of your portfolio in rental properties?

Tired of all the redundant rhetoric? Then give me a call for a dose of honest reality. I know you can handle the Truth!

Homes-for-sale-in-Kitsap-County-WA

~       o       ~       o       ~       o       ~       o       ~ o       ~

Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, and Crabbing in the Hood.

E-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com or call: (360) 440-4758

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