News Bulletin! Are homes selling fast suddenly in Sequim and in Port Angeles? Yes. I’m not kidding. I’ve been showing homes and land for years here, and since 2006 the market slowed and eventually entered this real estate recession. The sale of lots and vacant land came to a screeching halt. Very few people have bought land in this recession. The sale of homes has been almost as slow.
Homes Selling Fast Suddenly
As I’ve been out showing homes to buyers from all over the country, many of the homes on our list have been selling right out from under us, and that has not happened since 2005 when we were at the peak of the market in Sequim and Port Angeles.
Tonight I have been communicating with one of my young clients, and she is looking for a home in a low price range, under $125,000. Most of the homes I sell to retirees are in the upper price ranges, so I don’t pay much attention to homes for less than $200,000, and I rarely show homes less than $125,000. But check this out. This young nurse has narrowed her list of prospective homes in the MLS to a dozen or so. Out of a dozen homes that she believes could be suitable choices for her, how many of them do you think sold the day before or the day of showing it to her?
Would you believe 60%? That doesn’t sound like a real estate recession, does it? What’s going on? Why are homes selling fast for my buying clients in all price ranges?
Why Are Homes Selling Fast Suddenly?
I’ve written in earlier articles about the bifurcated market and how retirees are drilling down to the same single level three bedroom, two bath homes in the best areas at the best prices. But at the lowest price range, what’s happening?
Homes Selling Fast in Low Price Range
There are some very small one or two bedroom 700 to 960 square foot homes (some are very old) that are selling for as little as $69,000, although it is more common to see $99,000 to $125,000, which is essentially our lowest price range apart from mobile homes in parks. There are not very many. Buyers are snatching up these homes, and I think I know why. We haven’t had homes priced this low for as long as memory serves.
I sold a house this week in Sunland. It is a short sale at $180,000. My clients didn’t fool around. It had sold once, but the buyers didn’t want to wait for the short sale process, so they walked and bought another home. There was a backup offer, but those buyers found another Sequim home and bought it before the first couple backed out. My clients knew value when they saw it, and we wrote the offer and immediately got mutual acceptance.
Buyers are on the move lately in Sequim and Port Angeles. If you find the home you like, and it is in the right location and the listing price is reasonable, don’t fool around. By the time you get around to instructing your buyer’s agent to draft an offer, it may already be sold. This is why I can write homes are selling fast suddenly.
Last Updated on July 16, 2012 by Chuck Marunde
