By Merri Ann Simonson

In reviewing the first half of 2010, the real estate market volume on San Juan Island was less active when compared to the same period in 2009.

The dollar volume lags 2009 by $5,589,817 or 18% which is an improvement over the first quarter when we were down 30%; we managed to make up some ground. If we can maintain this volume, 2010 will end up very close to the volume for the years ending 2008 and 2009.

We all long for the real estate volume days of 2005-2007 and are more than ready for those days to return. The agents at Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc. are fortunate as we are actually up 11% for the year-to-date period ending June 30, 2010 from the same period in 2009.
The average number of transactions each month during the first half was 13 which is up 20% as compared to the same period in 2009. More transactions but smaller in dollar size.



Per the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, there are 503 listed properties on San Juan Island which equates to a great selection for buyers and is very similar to the amount of inventory we had back in November of 1998 when there were 535 properties listed on San Juan Island. The chart below gives you a clear picture of our absorption rate. As you can note, the most active category is for homes that sold for less than $400,000. Some of this activity level may have been attributed to the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer's tax credit that has since expired for new contracts.



Our median home price for the 12 month period of June 30, 2009 through June 30, 2010, for existing homes on less than 5 acres is $375,000. Our median price is down 6.3% from the year ending 2009 when the median price was $400,000.

For those buyers who hope to wait for the ultimate bottom; by the time I am able to report the bottom in a newsletter, it will have passed.
As you can note from the chart below, we have abundant inventory in each of the home price categories. We have a total of 268 home, condominium and manufactured home listings on San Juan Island. Of those, only 14 are under contract and heading to escrow. What is most alarming is that 145 of those listings or 54% have been on the market in excess of 300 days thus far.



Could it be that some of those listings are over-priced for our current market? When properties are priced right, the owners are enjoying showings and offers.

The chart regarding the land closings is very similar to the one for our home sales. Again, the lower-priced lots have the most activity. None of the sales were waterfront lots which may be due to the uncertainty in our market from the update of the Critical Area Ordinance. As shown below, we have a total of 177 land parcels listed and only 1 of those parcels is under contract. Of the 177 land parcels, 85 or 48% have been listed for over 300 days thus far and counting. Our median lot price for the 12 month period ending June 30, 2010 is $138,500 which is down 5.5% from year ending 2009 when it was $145,000.






Since we are the location, it must be pricing, pricing, pricing.

There are two good highlights in this newsletter; Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands, due to the experience level of our agents and management team has increased our volume over last year for the same period. And for prospective buyers, our market remains a strong “buyers market” with a high level of selection to choose from.

The summer weather has brought in buyers, which has increased the showing and offer activity at our office; we had the first multiple offer of the year just last weekend (7/24). Active sellers should take a hard look at their pricing if they hope to sell in this market.


(The information contained in this newsletter was generated from a search conducted by Coldwell Banker on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service and the Real Market Data LLC Reports and represents listings and closings from all of the brokerage firms on San Juan Island, not just Coldwell Banker/San Juan Islands, Inc. If your Property is already listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully.)