market summary

"plodding" is the action word perhaps best describing the pace of the residential real estate market on bainbridge island in 2009. the number of residential listings on the island as of january 5, 2010 was 182 versus 218 as of december 8, 2009. at 212, the number of residential sales on the island for calendar year 2009 was up over 13% over the 187 residential sales for calendar 2008. the average residential selling price on the other hand fell nearly 9% from 2007 to 2008 and fell nearly 12% from 2008 to 2009, primarily attributable to a relative larger percentage of total number of sales in 2009 being in the lower price ranges (under $600,000.00). bear in mind that these are average prices and changes in average prices. prices for properties in a number or price ranges, most notably the $800,000 to $1,000,000.00 range and the $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.00 range, fell more on the order of 20% to 30% while prices in the lower price ranges held up better than the average.         

as of january 1, 2010 - number of current bainbridge island "under contract listings" divided by the total number of "current listings" on bainbridge island for each property category.

residential - 32/188 = 0.17          (down from 0.19 as of december 1, 2009)

condominium - 3/71 = 0.04         (down from 0.07 as of december 1, 2009)

land - 2/51 = 0.04                      (unchanged from december 1, 2009)

this statistic is an attempt to capture a glimpse of more current market activity rather than having to extrapolate historical sales data.  i also have these stats available historically as well as for various price ranges within each property category. while the month-over-month increase for this statistic in the residential category would appear to be positive news, the increase was driven more by a reduction in the denominator of the ratio (the number of "current residential listings") than an increase in the numerator or a combination thereof. 

new web site search functions - sold listings

i have added some new simplified property search functions to my web site.  in addition to being able to search all bi property listings by property category, all bi home listings by price range, all bi property listings by neighborhood, all bi property listings by address or mls number, all bi public open houses scheduled for the coming weekend, and all bi properties newly listed within the past 24 hours, now you can easily search recent bainbridge island home sales by price range and recent bainbridge island property sales by property category (for example, recent bainbridge island waterfront home sales, or recent bainbridge island land sales).

more "real time" bainbridge island real estate market information

while the bainbridge island real estate market statistics updated monthly on my website provide retro snapshots that over time reflect general market trends, they are historical and hence lag "real time".

if you'd like to receive daily email updates of current bainbridge island real estate activity in terms of new listings in a specified property profile (e. g., all waterfront homes, all homes in a specified price range, all condominiums, etc.) you can easily create a personal account and be notified of new listings daily by email as follows:

• click the following link: http://bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/ 
• click on the "click here to log in" text link in the "create an account" blue rectangular box in the left hand column
• click the "click here to get started" text link
• enter you personal profile information (name, email address, user name, password, etc.)
• click the "create account" button at the bottom of the page and you're in 
• a gold horizontal bar should appear across the top of the page titled "welcome 'your name'"
• no, your account information will not be passed on to anyone else
• to create a search, click on the "search all bi properties by category" text link in the left hand column
• enter the property search parameters (price range, property type, price display order, etc.) of your choice (for bainbridge island enter 98110 in the zip code box)
• click the "start search" button
• click the blue "save search" button
• give the search a title of your choice
• indicate "instant" or "nightly" email notification schedule by clicking the appropriate "circle"
• click the "save this search criteria" button and you're done

your search will be saved and can be accessed for editing or deletion by clicking on the "searches" text link on the gold horizontal bar at the top of the page that is titled "welcome 'your name'".  you can also refine, edit, or delete your searches or change your email notification schedule from this page.  you will be notified by email of any new listings that match your search parameters.

alternatively, if you prefer, email me with your interests or property profile parameters and i will set up an account for you with daily auto-email notification of new listings that match your search criteria.   

blog posts

please feel free to check out some of my blog posts at http://bainbridgeislandferrytails.com/blog  recent posts liken bainbridge island to an amalgam of camelot and lake wobegon, summarize the current state of the residential rental market nationally, and highlight the disturbing fact that as a taxpayer you are now a substantial equity holder in fannie mae and freddie mac, if there is any equity.

as always, if you know someone who you think may be interested in these statistics or blog posts please feel free to either forward this email or ask them to email me and i will add them to my email distribution list.  likewise, if you would like me to remove you from my email distribution list please contact me.