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Pending Sales

March 6, 2016 by Chuck Marunde

Pending sales in Sequim and Port Angeles are at an all time high, at least as far back as I have tracked this data during this past 10 year recession. We have 125 pending sales, which explains why buyers are having trouble finding their ideal home. In one way of saying it, “There’s no inventory left,” although that would be an exaggeration. There is still inventory, but the inventory for the 3 bedroom, 2 bath single level modern home on a nice piece of property is almost non-existent. If it does appear on the market, it’s gone very quickly.

Pending Sales

Pending Sales and Price Increases

Here’s what this means. Prices are finally starting to go up significantly. This past 12 months we have seen increased sales and upward pressure on prices as homes were selling at full list prices, and some were selling for slightly above. But now we are seeing homes selling for more than previously established Fair Market Value (FMV). In other words, supply and demand is now dramatically effecting the sales price and sales numbers, so we now have more pending sales than ever before.

Many buyers are feeling desperate, because they can’t find what they want. If and when they find something that they decide would be a workable compromise, the list price is often higher than they feel it’s true FMV is. Here’s a real life example.

I showed a couple a home that had been on the market for over 700 days. In other words, it is a home that no one has wanted in two years on the market. It has been vacant the entire time, and it appears the seller has been doing virtually no maintenance. It’s an older home, and the floor plan is not all that attractive. There are some other features of the property that are attractive, but this is definitely a home that retirees moving to Sequim did not find appealing. The seller kept the price way too high, and it was clearly overpriced the entire time. This is the classic example of a very stubborn seller who refuses to acknowledge the laws of supply and demand by setting the price artificially high and just sitting on it despite the fact that so many buyers had walked away from it over such a long time period.

Pending Sales Push Offers

In my opinion, and the opinion of my buyer clients, this property had a FMV of $275,000 to $285,000. I show and sell a lot of homes, and the comps indicated a value in that range. But the seller had it listed for much more, $345,000. There was just no way that the home was worth that much. There were no comps supporting that, and far too much work was needed on the home. The entire kitchen needed a major upgrade. Some of the basement rooms were rather odd.

My clients decided to make an offer of $285,000, and after some counteroffers back and forth, they came up substantially more than they felt was justified to $315,000. They couldn’t find another suitable home in the inventory, and so they were willing to pay $15,000 to $20,000 more than it was worth. But the seller would not come below $335,000, which was way more than this old house was worth.

While my clients were considering whether they should walk away forever or pay even more, the home went under contract and became one of our statistical pending transactions. We don’t know the sales price yet, because that doesn’t become public information until it has closed, but it would appear this home sold for $335,000 or something close to that. This means this home sold for about $50,000 more than it’s historical FMV. Of course, once pending sales actually close, they become the new standard and establish FMV.

That is positive proof that prices are suddenly going up when you add that to the 125 pending sales we have right now. I have buyers who cannot even find a suitable home in the inventory. It is my opinion that supply and demand is finally catching up with Sequim, and now we have proof with all the pending sales.

Filed Under: Sequim Real Estate Market Tagged With: Pending Sales

How to Select a Real Estate Agent

February 20, 2016 by Chuck Marunde

When it’s time to select a real estate agent, do you know exactly how to do that? I’ve heard many reasons that explain why people select a real estate agent the way they do. Here are some of the most common reasons:

“I hired the first agent I talked to. Yea, I called a phone number off a sign, and some agent answered the phone, and that’s who I hired.”

“I was searching the MLS, and I saw an agent’s photo in the right margin on Zillow. They returned my call, and I hired her.”

“I got a call from a FSBO ad I ran on Craigslist, and it was an agent who wanted to list my home, so I listed my home with him.”

“My brother’s wife’s brother is a real estate agent, so I hired him.”

Select a Real Estate Agent

Select a Real Estate Intelligently

Notice what is missing in how each of these people decided to select a real estate agent. Not one did any due diligence on their agent before their hired them. They did not use relevant interview questions. They just hired any Tom, Jane, or Susan.

If you were going to invest $300,000 with an investment adviser, you wouldn’t just hire the first guy you called and give him your life savings. Neither should you trust any Tom, Jane, or Susan with your life savings when you buy a house. When it’s time to select a real estate agent, you have some research to do.

I want to share some steps you can take to make sure you do hire the right agent, but first I think you deserve to know my credentials for being qualified to share this information. I started in real estate 40 years ago, and I practiced real estate law for 20 years. In between I served as a JAG in the USAF for four years. I retired from law practice in 2005, and I built the largest virtual brokerage of any individual agent in the Northwest outside of Seattle.

I’ve written thousands of articles to help buyers. I’ve built an online marketing system to help buyers find their perfect home. I’ve written many real estate books for buyers, one for sellers, and one for Realtors. I definitely know what to look for in a Realtor. I wish all buyers and all sellers knew, but since they do not, my effort to help includes articles like this one.

Select a Real Estate Agent with Interview Checklist

You can download a copy of my Real Estate Agent Interview Checklist. It includes 22 questions to ask your prospective agent. The questions will get you thinking about the kinds of issues you want covered in your agent.

Why pay so much attention to how you select a real estate agent? Lawyers make a living off of other people’s mistakes and by suing Realtors. The last thing you need when you buy a home is a major legal nightmare. But even if you don’t get into litigation, if you hire an inexperienced agent, you could overpay for a home, and I’ve seen that. A buyer paid $825,000 for a home that was only worth $650,000. I personally watched that happen, although I did not represent either the buyer or seller. There was nothing I could legally or ethically do to save the buyer.

An inexperienced agent may not keep you out of trouble during the due diligence. There are many inspections, and there are many traps for the unwary. There are addendums, and special legal phrases you may need to protect yourself. I cannot overemphasize the importance of hiring the right agent.

Filed Under: Sequim Homes

Winter in Sequim

January 23, 2016 by Chuck Marunde

Winter in Sequim is sometimes overcast, sometimes rainy, rarely is there snow, but one thing we can say about winter in Sequim that is a blessing is that we don’t get these horrendous blizzards on the east coast, or the floods or the tornadoes or hurricanes. We are lucky. Yesterday as I looked out my back deck, I was looking at green fields and mountains, and it was so warm in my house, I had to leave the door to the back deck open for a while.

Winter in Sequim

Winter in Sequim

Temperatures yesterday were in the mid fifties. The sun was out. It was gorgeous. This is winter in Sequim. Not bad. New York is shut down because of a massive snow storm. Washington D.C. is too. From a Sequim perspective, it seems like New York has nightmare weather every winter to various degrees of severity.

Winter in Sequim and Looking at Homes

Even though it is this is winter in Sequim, we still have many buyers arriving to look at homes, and they are buying. It’s been an unusually busy November, December, and January.

Filed Under: Sequim Homes Tagged With: Buying

Sequim Business Property for Sale

January 14, 2016 by Chuck Marunde

This Sequim business property sits in a great business location. There are very few corner lots at a busy intersection right in the path of expansion and growth like this property. This aerial video puts this business location in perspective. The intersection is Sequim-Dungeness Way and the Old Olympic Highway, two of the busiest roads in all of Clallam County.

Sequim Business Property in Great Location

Notice from the high aerial view what is located near and around this Sequim business property. These are all very good business neighbors. This Sequim business property is within the Sequim City boundary, but is is halfway between Sequim and the bluffs to the north, which is where so much growth is happening. That means this location is very likely to see increasing traffic and increasing residential and commercial growth.

Sequim Business Property Uses

What kind of business uses could you have on this property? It is zoned C-I(NC). It currently is used for a business called Peninsula Nurseries, which will be sold separately. Permitted uses include alcoholic beverage sales (packaged), bakeries, barbers and beauty shops, churches, convenience stores, day care centers, dry cleaners and laundries, hardware stores, nursery, professional offices, agencies, pharmacy, photographic studios, and more. The property also has water rights with private well.

You can learn more about this 1880 home and this Sequim business property at this Sequim MLS site: Sequim Business Property.

Filed Under: Sequim Commercial Property Tagged With: Commercial Property

Horse Ranch for Sale

November 22, 2015 by Chuck Marunde

Are you looking for a small horse ranch? You will see more than one horse ranch from Port Townsend to Sequim to Port Angeles, but a horse ranch for sale is hard to find for the discerning horse owner. This is one horse ranch with an ideal property and ideal horse setup. Here is an aerial video of this horse ranch.

Horse Ranch For Sale

You can learn more about this horse ranch, including more photos, property details, and a 3D Virtual Tour of the inside of the home by going to Horse Ranch, and you can look at every horse ranch for sale in the Sequim and Port Angeles are by going to Horse Properties. By the way, you may have noticed that no broker in the Sequim and Port Angeles area is doing these kinds of high quality aerial videos and extraordinary three dimensional virtual tours, except one–iRealty Virtual Brokers and its owner/broker Chuck Marunde. Why? Chuck says, “I think buyers want reality. They need to know exactly what a property looks like outside, and for a property like this horse ranch, there’s no better representation than an aerial video. And buyers also want to know exactly what the inside of a home looks like and where all the rooms are, and the 3D virtual tour gives them the reality of walking through the home online just as though they were there in person. Clients love this kind of reality.” Hence the name, iRealty Virtual Brokers.

Horse Ranch

Clallam County is farm and animal country and has been for well over a century. For those with a little acreage out of town, horses, cows, sheep, goats, and even chickens are common. One of the reasons Sequim appeals to so many people retiring is because it is a very peaceful community far from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life. Are you a horse owner in the market for a horse ranch? Email chuckmarunde@gmail.com and let Chuck know exactly what you are looking for in a horse ranch.

Filed Under: Sequim Real Estate Tagged With: horse properties

Why Some Sequim Homes Sell Fast

October 30, 2015 by Chuck Marunde

Some Sequim homes sell fast and others do not. What’s the difference between them? I’m a guy who doesn’t jump to conclusions, but after seeing the same pattern over a long period of time, like years, I say to myself, “Hey Chuck, there’s a pattern here.” And so homes that sell quickly and homes that do not have revealed a pattern.

Sequim Homes

Sequim Homes Sell When They Sell

In a large metropolitan market there will be hundreds of homes selling every week, and it is easy to accurately predict how long a home will be on the market, how many buyers are arriving per week, and you can use sales statistics to make pretty good predictions. But in a small market, like Sequim, Washington, the inventory is very small, and the number of buyers arriving to look at homes and buy is also a small number. The number of buyers who come from week to week varies, and you cannot make accurate predictions about DOM (days on market) or how much a home should sell for.

Sequim Homes and Retirees

The truth is, retirees will retire when they retire, and then they make a trip to see some Sequim homes. The date on which a home is listed has no relation to when a retired couple arrive in Sequim to see similar homes. The ideal buyer for a particular home might arrive the same day a home goes on the market, or a month later, or 8 months later. In a small market with few buyers, you cannot draw definitive conclusions about a home just because it sold in 4 days, or just because it has been on the market for 6 months. There may be nothing wrong with the home. The right buyer may simply not have arrived yet.

Filed Under: Sequim Homes Tagged With: Sequim Homes

Sequim Real Estate Questions Answered

October 22, 2015 by Chuck Marunde

Buyers have a lot of Sequim real estate questions, and if you are a buyer wanting accurate and thorough answers to your questions, you need to know where to find those answers. What if there was a free online site or affiliated sites where you could find the answers to any of hundreds of Sequim real estate questions? There are two sites that do answer your questions, and these two sits answer literally hundreds of questions that buyers have been asking for two decades about Sequim. 

Sequim real estate

Sequim Real Estate Questions

The first site is this Sequim MLS site, which is full of articles answering questions. As the best Sequim MLS site, it was designed and programmed specifically by me in exactly the way buyers have wanted. It is not only easy to navigate, it is very powerful and offers buyers many options on how to search for the ideal property. In addition to this site being a 100% accurate and powerful Sequim MLS site to answer your questions about all the properties listed for sale in the Sequim area, this site also has articles addressing primary concerns. And if that wasn’t enough, there is more.

Sequim Real Estate Answers

In the right margin of the pages, there are links to hundreds of more articles answering Sequim real estate questions. Those links lead to a second site, which is the largest Sequim real estate blog with almost 2,000 articles written specifically to answer Sequim real estate questions. That blog is found directly at SequimRealEstateNews.com. 

In addition, you’ll find many links on these two sites to additional affiliate sites and online tools that answer Sequim real estate questions on nearly every issue that has been asked. Now, here’s a bonus. If you cannot find the answer to your question, you can get the answer, because the man behind these sites is a real veteran with over three decades in the business, 20 years as a real estate attorney, author of ten books, mostly real estate books (including books written for buyers, i.e. Sequim Real Estate: A Buyer’s Guide), and author of all the answers to these Sequim real estate questions. So if you cannot find your answer, you can email ChuckMarunde@gmail.com or call or text 360-775-5424.

There is no more thorough and authoritative source than these for all your Sequim real estate questions.

Filed Under: Sequim Real Estate Tagged With: Sequim Real Estate

Best MLS Sites

October 13, 2015 by Chuck Marunde

Today I share the best MLS sites you can use to search and find your home or land. I will tell you exactly why these are the three best Sequim MLS sites.

Sequim MLS

Best MLS Site #1

Our number one pick for the best MLS site in Sequim is Sequim4Sale.com, also known as Sequim-Homes.com. Unlike many MLS sites that are created and maintained by a corporation far away from Sequim, or other MLS sites that are awkward to use and not very friendly, this Sequim MLS site was designed and programmed specifically for Sequim buyers. It is easy to navigate, powerful in its search capacity, and you can save favorites and set up email alerts. 100% of all the Olympic Listing Service (OLS) listings are on this site. All local agents use the OLS, so this is where you will find all the local listings. There’s an introductory video, and a series of videos to help you get the most out of this Sequim MLS site. There is also a 24/7 technician standing by to help you if you have any questions. This is by far the best Sequim MLS site. Period.

Best MLS Site #2

Our second pick for the best MLS site in Sequim is LuxuryWaterViewHomes.com. This site includes all the Northwest MLS listings for homes and land in the Sequim area as well as most of the state of Washington, including the entire Seattle-Tacoma metropolis. Only 55% of the Sequim brokers are members of the Northwest MLS, so roughly half of the Sequim listings are in this system. But this site allows you to search a much larger area for other listings.

Best MLS Site #3

The last but very powerful Best MLS site is SequimForSale.com (as opposed to Sequim4Sale.com). This site includes all listings from both the Olympic Listing Service and the Northwest MLS, which makes it a very powerful site. Even Seattle area Realtors use this site to look at Sequim listings.

Use one or all three of these MLS sites, but if you are looking only at Sequim listings, we recommend our first choice at Sequim4Sale.com.

UPDATE: See the latest updated article on the NWMLS v. OLS last edited January 17, 2021.

Filed Under: Sequim Real Estate Tagged With: MLS, Sequim MLS

What is the Range of Experience of Real Estate Agents?

October 1, 2015 by Chuck Marunde

The experience of real estate agents varies dramatically, and yet it is amazing how many buyers and sellers seem unaware of the importance of having an agent with valuable experience. Can you imagine hiring an agent who has never closed a transaction? Many do without asking about experience. Believe it or not, many buyers hire the first agent who answers the phone (or email) with no interview and no qualifying whatsoever. Now if you were buying a hamburger or a used car, no big deal if your sales person has little or no experience (or knowledge), but you’re buying a house that will cost you six figures. I assume that was money you worked decades to save. Maybe the experience of real estate agents is important after all.

Experience of Real Estate Agents

Experience of Real Estate Agents

What is the requisite experience of real estate agents in order to get a license? None. They don’t have to have any real estate background, no marketing and sales experience, no business experience, no negotiating experience, no contract experience, no legal experience, no customer service experience, no technical experience, no software experience, and no Internet experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Just not on your nickel. Let the inexperienced practice with someone else’s money and someone else’s life, not yours.

Experience of Real Estate Agents Major Issue

If you’re a buyer or a seller, the experience of real estate agents you may hire is not a casual or minor issue–it is a huge issue, a major issue, one of the most important decisions of your life. Your agent doesn’t have to have the experience of a Chuck Marunde, but why settle for less, and why settle for a lot less. Chuck is one of the nation’s foremost experts on real estate transactions, and he’s right here in Sequim, Washington. Having previous experience as a real estate attorney for 20 years, he is the author of numerous real estate books, and has published thousands of articles for buyers on the Internet. His experience, knowledge, competence, and professionalism is second to none. If you are planning to buy or sell in the Sequim area, why not see if Chuck Marunde can get you in his schedule. (See his resume here: Sequim Real Estate Broker) When it comes to the experience of real estate agents, I strongly urge you to choose your Realtor carefully.

Filed Under: Sequim Homes Tagged With: Real Estate Agents

Sequim Real Estate Maps and Documents

September 24, 2015 by Chuck Marunde

Sequim real estate maps and documents are hard to find online.  The Internet addresses for these Sequim maps are impossible to remember, especially the long government websites that don’t have logical names.  I’ve collected some of the most useful links to Sequim real estate maps so you can easily find all the information you need on particular properties.

1.  Tax Assessor’s Site is packed full of useful information on their Sequim maps where you can look up any home or vacant real estate in the county by address, name, or tax parcel number.

Sequim Real Estate Maps:  Clallam County Tax Assessor’s Site

You may be interested in reading this article about How to Use the Tax Assessor’s Website.

2.  The County Parcel Maps have a tremendous amount of information available at your fingertips. You can look at Sequim maps showing boundaries and dozens of selectable map features (roads, streams, lakes, tribes, DNR land, the Discovery Trail, city and county boundaries, etc.).  By the way, the county programming on this Sequim real estate map will not load the map if your browser is sized too large. If it doesn’t load properly, reduce the size of your browser on your monitor.  This is true for all the county online maps.

Sequim Maps:  Clallam County Parcel Maps

3.  The County Boundary Maps are where you can see many more specific pieces of information about a property by selecting options in the right margin, like which irrigation district a parcel is in, school districts, hospital districts, precincts, fire districts, and so on. This looks very similar to the last map, but they are different.  On the last map, for example, you won’t see irrigation districts.

Sequim Real Estate Maps:  County Boundary Maps

4.  The Parcel Status is where you can see the complete status of a property on all county issues. You can find out on this page if the land is included in the Dungeness Water Management area. You type in the tax parcel number and hit search, and up comes a screen with a link on the parcel number, and when you go to that link, you’ll get a page full of more information and links on documents effecting that parcel.  Copy and paste this tax parcel number (033029550130) into the page below, and you’ll have an excellent example of the information you can see.  All tax parcel numbers in this system must be typed with exactly 12 digits.  If you have more zeros, delete them.

Sequim Real Estate Status:  Parcel Status

5. The County Auditor’s site includes all recorded real estate documents. This is where you can look at warranty deeds, deeds of trust, foreclosure notices (Notice of Trustee’s Sale), CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions), plats, and much more.

Sequim Real Estate Documents:  Real Estate Recordings

These Sequim real estate maps are very useful when you’re thinking about buying a property.  You need to know about the property restrictions and what you can and cannot do.  If your property will have a private well, you need to know if you’re in the water management rule that restricts residential use to 150 gallons per day for an entire family. If you will have a mini-farm or animals, you may want to be within one of our irrigation districts so you can have access to more water from April 15 to Sept 15.

There’s no way to memorize these url’s.  They’re too long and not intuitive, so be sure to book mark this page for future reference.

Filed Under: Sequim Real Estate Tagged With: Sequim Real Estate

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