Affordable housing in Gig Harbor
I was chatting with some guys today who were lamenting no affordable homes in Gig Harbor. I quickly chimed in that I have a great rambler for sale for only $329,000. It wasn’t long before we all laughed at how $325,000 is now considered “affordable.” Only 7 years ago I bought my first home for $113,000, and that was a huge stretch for me.
So I wanted to take a look at what is available in our area for under $300,000. I knew that there weren’t many homes for sale in Gig Harbor in that price range, but I wanted to find out just what you could get.
There are 21 homes for sale in Gig Harbor for under $300,000 (I didn’t include condos or manufactured homes). They average 3 bedrooms, 1.75 bathrooms, with 1248 square feet as the median. Just south of Gig Harbor, 84 homes are for sale on the Key Peninsula for under $300,000. They also average 3bds, have 2 baths, and 1340 square feet. Just a few miles north, you can find 210 homes for sale in Port Orchard for under $300,000. On average, you have 3bds, 2baths, and 1592 square feet.
So is $300,000 affordable? Are those homes too small for the average family? This discussion could go on and on, with arguments on cost of living, taxes, jobs, etc. I hope Gig Harbor real estate never gets to the point where average families are priced out of the market. There is so much to enjoy here, and it is such a great community to raise a family in, that it’d be a shame if it became completely unaffordable. When I went to college in Santa Barbara, families were priced out of the market. Schools were shutting down due to under enrollment. We called it the town of the nearly wed (lots of college students) and the nearly dead (lots of retired folks…I know it’s politically incorrect, sorry). I don’t foresee Gig Harbor ever getting to that stage.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
It’s crazy how the housing market has climbed in the Pacific Northwest the last ten years. I can remember the first time I ever went to Gig Harbor, I got lost! My step father and I used to cut wood up on Peacock Hill when there was nothing but raw land there, my how things have changed. Gig Harbor only continues to grow, I think more outward to the surrounding area, pretty soon we won’t have to cross the bridge for anything.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
We are getting a good deal of the necessary ammenities here. I think that we’ve done a pretty good job of making our new developments blend in to the atmosphere of Gig Harbor.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Damon, you mentioned Peackock Hill and my memory buttons went off. My parents used to own Hedstroms Floral Gardens and Nursery. I wonder if it is still there. Larry Cragun - IssaquahUndressed.com
December 21st, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I can see house prices softening here in the next few years due to overbuilding…(which is a good thing if our children are ever able to afford a house here.) just look at the new development north of the small traffic circle on Peacock Hill (on the right) Not one house in there has been sold and it looks like construction has been abandoned. Building will catch up but not until inventories get flushed out…We are not planning on selling in the near future because we love g.h. so much. We live downtown and are glad that all the commercial developement is going north…Merry Christmas everyone…
Mark
December 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm
The development that Mark is referring to is Crescent View Estates on 118th St off of Peacock Hill Rd. Currently there are 7 homes listed on the MLS in there (there are 19 homes being built). As Mark mentioned, none of the homes have sold or even gone under contract as of today. Homes are between 2400 and 3200 square feet, priced from $539,000 to $609,999. I don’t know about the construction having stopped, and I have never even toured the homes yet. The listing agent is advertising up to $100k price reductions on these homes. Statistically, $183-$194 per square foot is a pretty good price on new construction homes, but like I said I have yet to see these homes.