Sequim real estate is selling, even in the slowest and coldest month of the year in January of 2011. I showed houses yesterday to a wonderful couple from out of town, and we discussed the state of the Sequim real estate market, what homes are selling and what homes are not selling, and we discussed what has been happening to prices.
Sequim Real Estate
In this graphic above I’ve included the total number of homes sold in Sequim in January of 2011. Forty seven properties sold in January in Sequim. That’s an amazing number of homes sold in this small market in the slowest month of the year. Twenty two 3 bedroom homes sold in January. That’s amazing. Sometimes we wonder what is going on in the Sequim real estate market, and we tend to think it is a slow market and that nothing is selling. Au contraire. The Sequim real estate market is alive and well, and that is certainly apparent when we look at the numbers.
Sequim Real Estate Market
The segment that is selling are the best homes in the best areas at the best prices. Now that may be very obvious once I say it, but many don’t realize the implications of this simple conclusion. It means that the best homes are being taken off the market–gone–not available for sale again for many years. What does that mean? It means that the home you may consider the perfect retirement home will not be on the market at any price. These are the homes that are selling, and once they are off the market, the inventory of the best homes in the best areas at the best prices decreases.
In this graphic above, only 6 homes sold in Sequim in January above the price of $300,000. [DOM = Days on Market] The home that sold for $320,000 was sold by yours truly. These are the homes that most retirees want, normally newer homes in nice areas and preferably with a water view or a mountain view. I’m sometimes surprised at how most retirees who move here have very similar tastes and preferences in homes, which accounts for why they tend to look at the same small number of homes. You can imagine that with a number of retirees focusing in on the same short list of two dozen or three dozen homes listed for sale, it is a little more competitive than most people realize. It’s almost a contradiction in this real estate recession that retirees don’t have all the time in the world or a huge inventory to choose from, but this is the reality of the Sequim real estate market.
Sequim Real Estate Sold and Gone Forever
Granted . . . more homes will come on the market, and some of those will be great homes, but the vast majority of retirees are focusing on the same small number of nice homes, and it is this small inventory that is being depleted. The rest of the inventory is still very large, and there are plenty of homes in the $200,000 to $250,000 price range that the majority of retirees do not want. Foreclosures are coming on the market in larger numbers, adding to this inventory. But retirees are not interested in foreclosures, at least not in this market. The foreclosures here are not typically in nice areas and are not typically the nicer homes with good floor plans and nice kitchens.
Sequim real estate is still a strong magnet for retirees from around the country and they are buying every single month.
Last Updated on September 4, 2011 by Chuck Marunde
