Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate Prices

While the real estate market takes a long needed pause to breath deep, the reality
is that we have not yet seen significant reductions in the number of homes sold in
Sequim and Port Angeles, at least not of recession significance. Sequim actually
sold one more house in this time period in 2007 than it did in 2006, and Port Angeles
sales dropped by only 12 homes. Pricing is more significant.

As this chart illustrates, in 2006 (for the six month period from March 1 through
August 31), the median price of homes sold in Sequim was $285,000, and in Port
Angeles it was $271,500, and in 2007 $280,00 and $255,500, respectively. The
drop in average prices in Sequim is larger than the reduction in Port Angeles. The
Sequim average sales price of a home in 2007 is down to $283,347 from $294,407
in 2006 (an $11,000 drop). During the same time period, Port Angeles homes sold
dropped by only about $8,000.

I took the liberty of refining (weighting) the statistics to arrive at more meaningful
numbers. For example, the majority of sales are within the price range of $200,000
to $400,000. There were a total of 185 sales in this range in Sequim in 2006 and
146 in Port Angeles. The total houses sold in the same time period (in that price
range) in Sequim for 2007 is 186, and for Port Angeles 134. I excluded sales below
$200,000 because that represents lower priced housing, some of which is not
comparable to the typical 3 bedroom, 2 bath home that represents the majority of
buyers' preferences. I also excluded sales above $400,000 because that is a much
smaller number of sales, especially those above $700,000 (only 12 in Sequim).

By excluding these lower and higher priced homes, 81% of the remainder of homes
sold in Sequim are within $200,000 to $400,000. A similar result is obtained for Port
Angeles sales.

Beyond the statistics, clearly buyers are still buying. Timing is everything in real
estate, and even when the market takes a breath of fresh air before continuing its
course, there are people at their 20, 25, or 30 year retirement calendar, and they
are moving to Sequim or Port Angeles to purchase their retirement home. They are
not concerned about the statistics, only purchasing their dream home. As Martha
Stewart would say, "That is a good thing."

From a sales perspective, one message a person could take home from all these
numbers is that a seller would be well advised to be represented by a professional
agent with strong negotiating skills, not to mention access to hundreds of potential
buyers (the two MLS's, out-of-state broker referrals, and other buyer sources not
available to unlicensed individuals or FSBO's). This is not intended as a sales pitch,
but it does seem very logical in light of the importance of getting the highest possible
price for a home in a time when prices are dropping, and getting the best price would
be a partial function of connecting with the largest number of prospective buyers.
Something to think about.

Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate Prices

Sequim and Port
Angeles Real
Estate Blog