Happy Mother’s Day!
May 11th, 2008This clip is not new, not originally from me, but pretty fun! Happy Mother’s Day!
Photos on Gig Harbor’s waters
May 10th, 2008Erin, one of the contributors to this blog, sent me these photos of the Gig Harbor area. Some are from land, others from boat. She mentioned something that I probably should have months ago…the boat she took these photos from was rented. Gig Harbor Rent-A-Boat, located right downtown between Anothony’s restaurant and The Waterfront Inn (Gig Harbor’s best bed and breakfast in my opinion), rents boats for a very reasonable price. My wife and I took her youngest sister out last summer. All the speed boats were rented, so we got the “Party Pontoon” boat…a big old thing that holds 16 people or there abouts. Pretty funny for the 3 of us, but as Erin mentioned in her email to me, worth every penny.
This is from the waters of the Puget Sound, with Tacoma’s Pt Defiance Park the land to the right, and Vashon Island the land in the background.
This is the lighthouse that welcomes boaters at the mouth of Gig Harbor Bay. You can access it from private homes at the mouth of the harbor, or by kayak (or other boat). I don’t know if it’s public or privately owned, however, so I’ve never stopped by.
Probably the most photographed shot in all of Gig Harbor, but I never grow tired of it. Pictures of Mount Rainier over Gig Harbor rarely look alike, as the mountain and sky are always changing.
I love what black and white can do to the same image. Mt Rainier, assuming it doesn’t blow anytime soon, is just a gorgeous mountain to look at.
How does this Gig Harbor Realtor handle the “down market?”
May 9th, 2008I keep hearing bad news about the real estate market. People approach me as if my dog just died when they ask, “How’s the market? How’s your business doing?” I appreciate the concern, as things have slowed down a bit…slowed down to a normal market. With 2 great sales this past week (by great, I mean perfect homes for the buyers…I love seeing people realize that they’ve found “the home”), I can hear the doom and gloom and just…
Shake it off! Both homes I sold this past week were in the Rosedale area of Gig Harbor. Yes, the market has changed. But this is one real estate agent who won’t participate in the pity party. Does that make me tough or defiant? Nope…it means I have a company of leaders around me at Keller Williams who can guide me, remind me that this market is normal, and support me as I move on.
A little alone time at Gig Harbor’s Narrows Park
May 9th, 2008My wife left me today. Not forever, but she and my baby flew down to California to spend time with her family. So I’m stuck here trying to remember what I did before I had a wife and a baby. I love being alone, so I thought I’d welcome this break, but it’s weird. 
So I thought I’d take a trip to The Narrows Park on the south east end of Gig Harbor. My dog and I used to go there often. It felt like it was our own private beach, because there was hardly anybody ever there. It’s a dilemma for me…this blog is supposed to introduce you to the great things Gig Harbor offers, but the more folks who learn about places like Narrows Park, the less likely I am to have it to myself.
Today was a pretty good day. There were people scattered here and there, but the tide was at a -2, so there was plenty of beach to maneuver on. Tides in Gig Harbor fluctuate radically by the way. Keep up on the changing tides with this chart. Most people are pretty responsible. 
I do let Seb off of his leash to run and swim, but as soon as I see other folks around, I put him back on leash. 2 of the 3 other dog owners I saw at the park today did the same. The other had a Dalmatian (Seb hates Dalmatians, they tend to be aggressive) and as the dog ran towards us the owner kept yelling, “He’s okay. He’s fine.” Thanks. The problem is Seb isn’t. He got his eye slashed open as a puppy when he was on leash by a dog that was off, and now, more than 8 years later, he’ll still attack any dog that approaches him. Fortunately the Dalmatian ran back towards its owner each time I picked up a rock and pretended I was going to throw it. But like I said, most people are pretty respectful…I won’t bash an entire park ’cause one person won’t control their dog.
Narrows Park is a great place to view the bridges 
(on low tide days like today, you can walk underneath them). There’s lots of sea life there as well. We’ve seen otters, seals, lots of fish, star fish (or sea stars for the picky folks), and tons of shells. It’s the best place in Gig Harbor for a picnic or a nature walk, I think. Here are a few photos of our day.
The drive down to the park is incredible. The forest is just beautiful.
Beach at low tide. Tides in Gig Harbor fluctuate greatly. Don’t walk too far if you haven’t checked the tides.
Mount Rainier peaking out above Tacoma. The mountain moves, you know. You can see it from so many angles, and it looks different every time!
Tons of shells and sea creatures can be found at Narrows Park. I don’t know what the rules are in terms of taking them home with you, but I prefer to take photos and leave them for the next folks.
If you’ve got any photos of Narrows Park, or any Gig Harbor pictures, I’d love to post them.
Take mom to an open house in Gig Harbor!
May 9th, 2008Looking for something to do for mom this weekend? If you’re in the Gig Harbor area, why not take her on a tour of some open houses? Chances are you can’t buy mom that $1M home for mother’s day, but don’t you think she’d enjoy touring one? There are 2 homes priced at over $1M open in Gig Harbor this weekend, and Salmon Bay Estates, priced just under $1M, will also be open. Click on the map below for the 10 properties that will be hosting open houses this weekend.
Information is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed. If your mom falls in love with any of these homes, give me a call. I’d be happy to talk with you about the process of purchasing these or any other homes in the Gig Harbor, Fox Island, and Port Orchard areas.
Winning by doing the right thing
May 5th, 2008It’s amazing how many opportunities we are given each day to make a choice between right and wrong. I’m not talking about major decisions here, this isn’t should I or shouldn’t I murder. I’m talking about decisions that appear small when you’re faced with them, but can just seem huge after the decision has been made. I want to quickly highlight 3 such decisions that I noticed this week:
- My wife and I were buying dinner at the new Costco in north Gig Harbor. Just a simple pizza. My wife noticed when we ordered that the guy who took our order seemed new, and it seemed like he didn’t do something quite right, and my wife told me that she felt our order never got placed. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later (it should only take 10) they realized they never took our order. We weren’t too bothered, didn’t make a fuss at all, yet the person running the orders brought us each a free frozen yogurt and a free pizza as well. Wasn’t necessary, we’d already paid, we didn’t ask for anything, she just did it. As a result, we took the extra pizza and shared a nice dinner with some friends we hadn’t seen in a while.
- My wife bought some cute shoes online for our baby daughter. They came with free
shipping which was a bonus. When the shoes arrived, the little flowers weren’t sewn in correctly. They weren’t ruined, just not quite right. My wife called the company to see how we could send this pair back and get a new pair 
without getting dinged for shipping, and the company offered to send a new pair while we kept the first. Not necessary, not what we asked for, but it certainly made my wife happy and took away the inconvenience of sending the shoes back. - Western Oregon was playing Central Washington in a playoff implication softball game. A Western Oregon player hit a home run, but tore her ACL as she rounded first base (in her excitement she missed the bag, and tried to stop and turn around to touch the base when her knee tore). It was determined that since the runner couldn’t round the bases she’d be held to a single…if her teammates assisted her she’d be out (that rule was later found to be false, but at the time that was the umpire’s understanding).
CWU had a chance to turn a 3-run HR into a 2-run single…great! But two CWU players walked over and carried the Western Oregon runner around the bases (nothing in the rules said the opponents couldn’t help) giving up a run that they could have saved. CWU ended up losing by 2, but those players certainly take a win with them through life. Click the photo for the full story.
Doing the right thing matters, even if it appears small at the time. It’s something I strive for in my own business.
April home sales in Gig Harbor
May 5th, 2008If you are one who takes all of your information from the national news, go ahead and skip over this post, because you won’t believe any of it anyways. So many of the bloggers whom I “dialogue” with on other real estate blogs are convinced that our market is tanking, and Realtors such as myself are desperately and shamelessly altering the facts to try and save our jobs. So if you believe Gig Harbor’s real estate market is in a hole because your cousin’s house in Kalamazoo, MI, won’t sell, move on to another blog. If you want some facts, keep reading.
This chart shows the price range for the 33 homes and condos that sold in Gig Harbor in April of ‘08. As you can see, the $400,000-$500,000 price range saw the most sales. The median price of $427,000 was a 7% increase over the median price from April of ‘07. I know, I’m not allowed to say home prices are actually increasing, but Month vs Month they did in April. Sorry to bring good news, I’ll try and stop. To bring a bit of perspective back to the table, April of ‘07 saw 77 sales versus only 33 in ‘08. That’s a significant difference. In my opinion, that’s more significant than the median price increase.
Bottom line is that homes, when priced correctly and in prime condition, are still selling. Click the map below for an interactive tour of the home sales in Gig Harbor. Hover your cursor above any pushpin to see the asking price, final sales price, and days the home was on the market. Remember that the asking price is the list price at the time of the sale…it does not take into consideration any price reductions (it’s not necessarily the original asking price). Information is taken from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.
Cool off at Gig Harbor’s new Jamba Juice
May 4th, 2008A friend of ours from church recently gave us some free smoothies at the new Gig Harbor Jamba Juice. He’s a manager there, so he can do stuff like that. 3 things stood out:
- Gig Harbor’s new Uptown Center has some good eatin’…Jamba Juice, Ben and Jerry’s, and Panera Bread are the places I’ve tried at the Uptown Center.
- Jamba Juice is good stuff, and they make it seem like it’s good for you with vitamin boosts or calcium boosts and healthy stuff like that.
- The large cups contain A LOT of smoothie. Neither my wife nor I could finish our fruit smoothies, and I’m usually pretty good at finishing food.
Give the new Jamba Juice a try next time you’re in Gig Harbor. Located in the Uptown Center right off of Pt Fosdick Drive.
Lots of homes to view in Gig Harbor this weekend!
May 3rd, 2008If you’re out and about in Gig Harbor or Fox Island this weekend, there are 18 open houses for you to view. Just click on the map below and you’ll be taken to my interactive Gig Harbor open house map. Hover your cursor above any pushpin to see stats, time and date of the open house, and which real estate agent has that home listed. For a view of the neighborhood, click on “Birds eye view”…it’s pretty neat but remember that the pushpin may not be on the exact property that’s for sale.
Be sure to drive out to Fox Island and check out the grand opening of Salmon Bay Estates. They’ll have exciting prizes and great food. All of the information given on these homes for sale is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed. For more information on these or any other available homes for sale in Gig Harbor or Fox Island, please give me a call!
Is my baby the cutest?
May 2nd, 2008I entered this photo of my daughter in the Warm106.9 radio station’s “Baby of the Week” contest. She was chosen as one of the finalists for this week. I think she’s the cutest, but the question is do you think she is? If you get a minute, click here to vote on who you think the cutest baby is. If you think it’s our daughter, thank you…if you vote for somebody else, I guess that’s okay.
