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Doom and Gloom.
As a licensed real estate broker, I hear this particular sentiment being expressed a lot these days, both as it relates to the housing market in general around the country, and right here in Kitsap County WA.
Let’s face it. Times are tough. Our current economic struggles breed uncertainty and unrest. The natural tendency is for people to hunker down, hold tightly to their money, and not make any major purchases.
While this may be a prudent direction for some, others may unfortunately lose out on a prime market opportunity. One of the best times to invest in real estate is at the low end of the cycle when home prices have bottomed out. Add to that dynamic the large number of short sale and bank-owned properties currently available, and you have an even better equation for investment success.
Though it seems unlikely that U.S. home prices in general will rise any time soon (many are predicting a sustained flat market for the next 4 to 5 years), some local markets are showing favorable resiliency.
Moody’s Economy.com, a financial services industry information firm, estimates that by 2014, U.S. home prices will be 7.2 percent above 2010 levels, with the strongest growth here in the Pacific Northwest. These estimates are based on such factors as employment, foreclosure rates, income growth, demographic trends, and construction costs.
According to Moody’s forecasts, the most robust market in the US will be Washington State’s Bremerton-Silverdale area. While home sales and new construction in the area have slowed in 2010, Moody’s expects prices here to jump up by a total of nearly 45 percent over the next four years (9.7 percent annually). This is the highest forecast among 384 metropolitan statistical areas that were surveyed nationwide. Price levels in Kitsap County WA have fallen about 21 percent from the 2007 peak levels, according to the Case-Shiller Indexes.
As much as I would love to believe these numbers, common sense cautions me to take them with a grain of salt, and lean a bit more towards the conservative side. However, given that the economic analysts at Moody’s are a lot smarter than I am, perhaps their predictions can help dispel some of the doom and gloom.
For a little while anyway!
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate broker 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, Everyday CK, HomesByHarbors, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com
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Recently, a Seller entered into contract with a military Buyer who wanted to purchase their house using 100% financing through the VA home loan. The transaction went along smoothly enough, along through the inspection process. Then the Buyer’s lender ordered up the appraisal.
Unfortunately, the VA sent an ‘out-of-state’ appraiser not familiar with their market who used only a 1 mile radius around the subject property for finding comparable properties to determine her valuation. As a result, the home was appraised for almost 20K less than what the Buyer and Seller had agreed upon. In addition, the Buyer had also requested for the Seller to contribute $5K towards closing costs.
Both the Selling Agent and Buyer’s Agent submitted comps within a 2 mile radius of the subject property. The Buyer clients, knowing that the house was competitively priced and would not find anything remotely close in value within their price range, also got involved in writing letters to the VA. Even the bank that was financing the deal agreed that the 1 mile radius imposed by the appraiser was unfair and that the appraisal should be contested. They took the agent’s comps and sent them onto the VA in a Request for Change of Value.
After more than two weeks and numerous errors, i.e., paperwork lost, given to the wrong person, the parties were informed that the Request for Change had been refused. No reason or explanation was provided.
To compound their problems, the Sellers had been waiting for the appraisal results so they could act upon a counter offer for buying another house – a house than they would now lose because other competing offers had come in on the property.
To make matters even worst still, both Buyers and Sellers will now miss their eligibility for the Federal Tax Credits being offered which end on April 30th.
This is yet one more example of the flaws inherent within the VA appraisal process and how people’s lives are impacted negatively as a result.
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional 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, Everyday CK, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com
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In the most recent issue of US News and World Report, Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA were both ranked in 1st place among the Top Ten US Housing Markets for the Next Ten Years.
Citing a recent study conducted by Moody’s Economy.com, Associate Editor Luke Mullins shared findings that the home prices of neighboring cities Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA should expect to increase by an average of 5.2 percent annually from the fourth quarter of 2008 through the same period of 2018.
Situated near the heart of the Kitsap Peninsula, Silverdale and Bremerton WA share more than 300 miles of scenic Puget Sound coastline with other area cities like Port Orchard, Poulsbo, and Seabeck.
While the attractive Pacific Northwest location is certainly a huge draw that brings new residents to the area, the study points to the area’s stable economies as the primary determining factor for the projected future growth. A large military presence/community— of the U.S. Navy in particular — helps to insulate the local economies somewhat from the widespread volatility being experienced in other markets around the county.
With the current low mortgage rates and the $8000 tax credit, this can be an excellent time for 1st Time Home Buyers to enter the market. And, with the number of bank-owned properties and short sales, there is also opportunities for investors to acquire some bargain-priced properties.
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional 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.
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Real Estate Market Report for Kitsap County WA 06/01/2009
The following is a brief analysis of the combined single-family home and condo market within Kitsap County, Washington for June 2009, provided by Rich Jacobson of Windermere Real Estate, in Silverdale, WA (this includes data for Bainbridge Island WA)
Bainbridge Island WA statistics separately: (Area 170)
Home prices in Kitsap County WA continued to drop slightly in May, while pending sales showed further improvements.
Lending rates have jumped rather significantly just over the past several weeks (from 4.5% to 5.25%), spurring many potential Buyers to get off the fence and make the home buying leap.
The market continues to offer excellent opportunities for qualified 1st Time Home Buyers with the low rates, the $8000 1st Time Buyers Tax Credit from Uncle Sam, and the large amount of homes available on the market.
If you’re a motivated Seller, now may be the time to seriously consider making a meaningful pricing adjustment, so you can move onto the next adventure in life!
Top selling neighborhoods in Kitsap County WA were Area 141 (South Kitsap West of Hwy. 16); Area 148 (West Bremerton); and Area 150 (East Central Kitsap).
For more additional information and resources concerning real estate in Kitsap County WA and the Western Puget Sound, access my website, Kitsap Life .
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional 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 and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com
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