A housing shortage on Whidbey Island this spring is causing Realtors to scramble and buyers to rush to purchase.
Industry insiders say that within the current “crazy” sales climate houses are moving quickly and staying on the market mere days in some cases.
“It’s a pretty busy market and there’s little supply of homes,” said Hal Hovey, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Koetje. “It’s frustrating on the part of the home buyers who can’t find a home that meets their needs in their price range.”
This seller’s market is particularly evident in the $200,000 and less homes coveted by first-time homebuyers and military personnel.
But both for homes under and over $200,000, statistics show that the inventory has gradually declined over the last year and the number of pending sales has spiked over the last three months, according to data provided by Windermere.
What is available is selling very fast and without a lot of new construction, and demand is starting to exceed the inventory, Hovey said.
The number of new home permits issued from the City of Oak Harbor has increased slightly over the last few years, but not substantially, according to city staff.
In 2012, 40 permits were issued; in 2013, 54 permits issued; and in 2014, 61 permits issued, according to the city.
As a result, brokers are reporting that houses are sitting on the market 20 days or less in many cases.
“Every spring the market tends to pick up,” said Patty Fakema with Land Title. “Sales have increased but then there’s no inventory. It’s busier and there’s more back log because everyone wants everything yesterday.”
“It’s going to be an interesting year,” Fakema said.
Eric Mitten, owner of Windermere Real Estate offices in Coupeville and Oak Harbor, said he’s been “really surprised” by this year’s market.
“As of the end of March, availability of homes is the lowest in my 14 years of ownership,” Mitten said.
Mitten said the shortage was likely caused by the economic downturn in 2009 when builders stop buildings, “creating a pent up demand.”
A healthy market tends to have six months’ worth of available inventory on the market, but this year the inventory is down to about two months worth, Mitten said.
“We’re kind of already extremely tight,” Mitten said.
While the market tends to pick up in the spring, Mitten said sales increased by 30 percent during the first three months of the year.
“It’s causing me to be more busy,” said Kathy Collantes with Go Realty. “You have to work so hard to find something.”
“We’re going to deplete our inventory very quickly.”
To meet the demand, Collantes said she’s been reaching out to people who’ve given the slightest inkling they might sell their home to tell them “now’s the time.”
The good news, at least for now, is that prices are staying relatively static, something that might change later in the year, Mitten said.
“Prices are holding, market times are considerably down from this time last year and we are experiencing our lowest inventory since 2007-2008,” said Jason McFadyen, president of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce. “Multiple offers are becoming more common again.”
The lack of available homes for sale is also spilling into the rental market.
“And it’s not just the sales market,” said McFadyen, a Realtor who specializes in rentals and property management. “We are seeing vacancy rates close to 1 percent in our office. People are calling and saying, ‘I’ll take that one (rental) because they have missed out on other homes in Oak Harbor.”
Mitten also said that builders are becoming increasingly more active which means that more houses will hopefully become available in the coming years.
