Is Gig Harbor’s Real Estate market healthy?
I was having an online “discussion” with an agent from another Gig Harbor real estate company this past week. I like this guy, because he disagreed with what I was saying, but was completely respectful and supported his thoughts with examples, numbers, and reason. Quite a relief from the bloggers who tend to try and just shout you down in an “uh-huh, nyuh-uh” match.
I argued (and still believe) that Gig Harbor’s real estate market has shifted back to a more normal market. This other agent said we’re nowhere near normal, basing his belief off of our absorption rate (how long it would take to sell off all of the listings currently on the market). So who’s right? We are. Real estate in Gig Harbor has come back down to earth. Prices are appreciating anywhere from 1%-7%, depending on how you tweak the numbers. YTD ‘08 vs ‘07, Gig Harbor’s median home sale’s price has actually declined 6%. I’d still argue that a 6% decrease is far more normal than a 26% increase.
This other Realtor from Gig Harbor was pointing to our inventory and slow sales. As of today, there are 697 homes for sale in Gig Harbor (remember, I don’t include KPN in Gig Harbor’s numbers and I am not including condos either). We have seen 113 homes sell in the first 4 months of’08, for an average of 28.25 home sales per month. Assuming no other homes were listed for sale, and assuming we maintained our current pace, it would take 24.5 months to sell all of Gig Harbor’s home inventory (our absorption rate then is 24.5).
