The early summer months are traditionally a very active time for home sales and this year is no exception. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently announced that existing, or previously owned, homes in June sold at the fastest pace on record. The national median existing home price for all homes was $219,000, which is up 14.7 percent from June 2004. This home price gain is the largest annualized increase since November 1980. From data that I see, and from my conversations with local Realtors, it is apparent that the North Whidbey residential marketplace is mirroring the national scene.

Locally there were 355 sales of existing homes in the first 6 months of 2005. This statistic excludes condominiums and manufactured homes on land. As a comparison there were 289 sales over the same time period in 2004 and an average of 205 sales over the prior 10 years. Thus, current sales volume is running about 73 percent greater than the past 10 year average. Correspondingly, median prices are also on the rise with the most recent quarterly statistic for North Whidbey indicating a median home price of $221,500. The current price is up 21 percent from second quarter 2004 and up 58 percent from 10 years ago. This clearly indicates that most of the appreciation being experienced by local existing homes has occurred in the last couple of years. One of the more interesting phenomena in this market is that there are currently more local real estate agents then there are residential home listings.

I had a chance to talk with Terry Reynolds, who is a Realtor with the Windermere Oak Harbor office. Terry, who is the current president of the North Puget Sound Association of Realtors, states that there are 130 Realtors in the north and central Whidbey area. As of last week, there were 80 active listings of homes in the Oak Harbor area on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Local marketing time has increased slightly, rising to 70 days, but it is still considerably less than the long-term average of 4 to 5 months.

Buyers must act quickly

It seems that virtually every home will sell today. In past years, homes that sold quickly typically needed to be reasonably priced, have a good location, and the home needed to have good curb appeal and to show well. Now it seems everything sells regardless of location and condition, as long as the property is fairly priced. Local home buyers might be somewhat desperate at times, but they are not foolish enough to drastically overpay for a home. This has lead to market conditions wherein purchasers are being forced to act quickly vs. the more typical opportunity of taking one’s time to shop around. Another sign of the housing frenzy is that local Realtors state that it is typical to see multiple offers on the better homes that are reasonably priced.

The recent decision to relocate the Navy’s VQ-2 squadron here will only further increase the pressure on the local housing market, at least in the short term. But, there is good news. The City of Oak Harbor will likely expand its urban growth area (UGA) by the end of the year. The City’s Comprehensive Plan Task Force recently voted to add 183 acres to the UGA, which could eventually increase the local housing stock by 645 units, at typical single-family residential detached home land-use densities. The Task Force’s decision next goes to the Planning Commission and then on to the City Council.

Near-record home prices

This market is quickly approaching home price levels previously unheard of. Ron Bodamer, a Realtor at Windermere Center Isle, states that the high end homes, say those above $500,000 in price, are moving again after having a slow start in 2005. Ron and Bruce Byson, of the same Coupeville office, recently teamed up to sell a home in the Sky Meadows development for $926,000. This large rambler, with a brick Tudor design, was built by Yonkman Construction in 1998. I recently had the opportunity to tour a magnificent West Beach Road home with the listing agent, Larry Gaines of Coldwell Banker Koetje Realty. This home, which is offered at $1,799,000, is an example of some of the finest construction here on the island. The property has 14.57 acres of land with over 600 feet of high bank waterfront. The home has a rather unique contemporary design with 4 floors and 6 levels. It has all of the most modern conveniences and features a theater room and library with a wet bar alcove. Another attractive feature of this home, that is not often seen here on Whidbey Island, is a porte cochere that connects the 3-car garage to the home. The views afforded from this home are fabulous, with the scope ranging from Port Angeles to the San Juan Islands and everything in between.

There a couple of noteworthy commercial property sales. John Coffin, owner of John C. Coffin Inc., was the listing agent for 2 commercial properties that recently sold. The Rayle Professional Building, which is located at 31955 SR 20, across the street from Home Depot, sold for $475,000. Mr. Coffin also sold the Mariners Court property for $475,000. This retail building is located in Coupeville at the corner of Front and Alexander Streets, across from Penn Cove and the Town pier. The anchor tenant is the well-known Christopher’s Front Street Café.

I welcome your comments or questions on real estate. You may email me at strohm@oakharbor.net.