Kitsap Waterfront Update - January 2011
By Admin
Our January report showing December’s statistics generally represents the low point in home sales for the year; however, this year the closed sales in December remained flat with November and higher than earlier in the fall. What changed is the distribution of sales, with 10 of the 11 closed sales either on Bainbridge Island or in Bremerton (and only 1 in the rest of North Kitsap). Also 4 were for more than $1 million and 3 were below $300k - so only a small percentage were in the middle price ranges. Perhaps the increase in higher priced activity was somehow related to the uncertainty over tax rates prior to Congress’s extension of the current rates late in the month. After interest rates rose above 5% in November, the rate for 30 year fixed rate mortages has fallen again to around 4.75%.
December’s waterfront listing inventory continued to drop after peaking in June, tracking close to the same as we’ve seen the past 2 years. The inventory turnover rate has improved from 15 months to a 14 months, still pretty slow. December closed sales were the same as in November. There were 18 pending sales, compared to only 16 in November. Only the most competitively priced homes are selling.
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