Tag Archives: residential

Home sales remained strong in November

RealEstate_FILE01_21275712_ver1.0_640_480Real estate sales activity remained elevated in Kitsap last month, as did home prices.

Pending sales in the county were up 16 percent in November compared with November of 2015, while closed sales were up 30 percent, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service. 

A sales surge was reported across the Puget Sound region.

“November’s pending sales for the four-county area of King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap were the highest since 2005,” John L. Scott CEO J. Lennox Scott noted in a NWMLS news release.

“Every time interest rates increase 0.5 percent we see these surges because buyers become anxious about increasing rates – but on a historical basis rates are still amazing,”

Those eager buyers competed over a dwindling supply of home listings.

In Kitsap, 330 new listings came on the market in November, bringing the number of homes for sale in the county to 758. Inventory was down only 1.3 percent from November of 2015, but still very low compared with previous years.

Homes sold in Kitsap in November fetched a median price of $280,000, up about 8 percent or $21,000 from the same time last year.

Here’s a graphical look at Kitsap real estate market trends:

And here’s a map showing real estate stats by submarket. Hover your mouse over each area for details.

91-unit apartment complex approved in Poulsbo

One street side elevation
A street-level view of one Arendal apartment building

Poulsbo has given the green light to a 91-unit apartment complex planned for Viking Avenue. 

arendal.siteThe Arendal Apartments will be built on 7.6 acres just south of the intersection with Highway 305 and up the road from Fish Park. A wetland occupies the east side of the property.

Apartments will be divided among four buildings, each with between 11,000 to 12,000 square feet of floor space, according to a notice of decision issued by the city Thursday.

Plans include 174 parking spaces. About a quarter of the spaces will be under buildings. Access will be from a single entrance on Viking Avenue.

A club house, playground, barbecue area, bicycle storage and dog park are also planned.

The applicant for the project is Viking Avenue Properties, LLC., headed by Kelly Clark of Kingston.

You can read the full notice of decision below, and find a detailed staff report here (big PDF file).

NOD Arendal

Lender foreclosing on Stetson’s Heights development land

stetson.map
Click to enlarge

A lender is foreclosing on more than 100 acres of Port Orchard land slated for residential development.

A notice of trustee’s sale was issued May 25 for the Stetson’s Heights property, which includes four parcels west of the Glenwood Road/Sedgwick Road intersection (see inset image).

According to the notice, Stetson Ridge Partners, LLC. of Tacoma owes more than $1.86 million in principal, interest and fees on a loan issued in 2013 by Fratelli’s LLC. of Auburn and Happypenguin.com.

The combined assessed value for the parcels is $1.67 million.

The sale is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 26 outside Givens Playfield at Tacoma Avenue and Sroufe Street in Port Orchard.

Previous owners of the property submitted a preliminary plat application to the city in 2007 but later requested officials hold off on approval. Stetson Ridge Partners acquired the land in 2013 and submitted a 362-lot, single-family subdivision.

Port Orchard Community Development Director Nick Bond said the city is currently reviewing a new application for the property.

Real estate update: More homes came on the market in April

ferncliff01_23090926_ver1.0_640_480Kitsap’s depleted inventory of homes for sale received a much needed injection of new listings in April.

A total of 568 new listings were added last month, 71 more than were added in April 2015, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The influx raised the total number of active listings from 566 in March to 655 in April.

0411_KitsapIndicator_MonthsSupply_KSThough surely welcome, the added listings did little to ease the tight market.

The inventory of available homes remained 22 percent lower than in April 2015, and 56 percent lower than in April 2012.

Sales were steady last month, with 584 transactions pending, up 5 percent from the previous year. The county’s median home price hovered at $270,000, up 7 percent year-over-year.

The months supply of homes (the number of months it would take to sell off all the homes for sale if no new listings were added) eased slightly to 1.83 months.

A market is generally considered balanced when it has a supply of four to six months. Kitsap’s market still strongly favors sellers.

Here’s a graphical look at Kitsap real estate trends:

And here’s a map showing April real estate stats by submarket. Wave your clicker each MLS area for details. Drop me a note if there are other stats you’d like to see included:

Subdivision, dog training center planned on Bainbridge Island

Planning activity is picking up on Bainbridge this year, with a bevy of land use proposals in various stages of permitting.

Here’s a look at proposals for a residential subdivision and an assistance dog training center:

Winslow Grove subdivision

winslow.grove
Click to enlarge

The applicant: DeNova Northwest of Kent. They’re also behind the “Ashbury” subdivision between Wyatt and Shepard.

The property:  Four parcels totaling 8.77 acres west of Weaver Road, across from the Rotary Park ball fields (pictured above).

There’s a 1,500-square foot rambler on the main parcel.

The proposal: A subdivision creating 19 residential lots, surrounding a street and cul-de-sac, with access from Weaver (see inset image).

Next steps: The city has posted a notice of application for the project. A SEPA comment period will be open until March 4.

Assistance dog training center

dog.training

dog trainingThe applicant: Assistance Dogs of Hawaii, a national non-profit organization

The property: A 4.3-acre vacant parcel at the corner of Bucklin Hill Road and Ridge Lane.

It’s next door to the American Legion hall and across from Hyla Middle School.

The proposal: The project would create two buildings, each about 1,800 square feet.

One building (pictured above) would be a teaching barn to provide training for students and assistance dogs. The other building would house an instructor/caretaker and two students.

Lawns, a courtyard and parking lot are also planned. The development would be tucked in the northwest corner of the property, with access from Ridge Lane (not Bucklin).

Wenzlau Architects is designing the center. You can see more preliminary plans here.

Next steps: The proposal is in the pre-application phase. A public participation meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., March 1 at Waterfront Park Community Center, 370 Brien Drive.

New brand unveiled for home builders association

gI_146212_KBA_Logo_pmsThe Home Builders Association of Kitsap County unveiled a new name and logo earlier this month.

The group has changed its name to the Kitsap Building Association, to better reflect its mix of members from both the residential and commercial construction industries.

The association’s board approved the new brand in January, according to a news release.

“Our name has changed,” Executive Director Teresa Osinski said in the release, “but really, we have always welcomed non-home builders as part of our membership. Anyone involved in construction in Kitsap relies on us for support, advocacy, and community connections. That will never change.”

Poulsbo-based Rockfish Group designed the Kitsap Building Association logo, pictured above.

The full news release is posted below.

Continue reading →

Hot Kitsap real estate market favors sellers

FERRY

A low inventory of homes and ravenous demand have set up a seller’s market in Kitsap.

Pending sales in March were 23 percent higher than in March 2014, according to numbers released this week by Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Closed sales were up 35 percent from the previous year.

More than 500 homes came on the market in March, but it wasn’t enough to sate the appetite of buyers. Inventory remained very low, with 840 active listings.

The months supply of homes — the number of months it would take to sell off the available inventory if no more homes were listed — dropped to 2.4 months. A 4- to 6-month supply typically indicates a balanced market.

“Dramatic increases in sales combined with severe decreases of inventory have led to a robust marketplace primarily benefiting sellers,” said Mike Eliason, CEO of the Kitsap County Association of Realtors.

Prices may finally be heading up in the county. The median price for Kitsap closed sales in March was $240,523, a 7 percent increase from 2014.

The year-to-date median price (including sales in January, February and March) was $235,000, up from $225,000 in the same period of 2014. (See a breakdown of prices by area at the bottom of this post, or click here).

Here’s a graphical look at Kitsap real estate trends:

And here’s a look at median prices in various areas:

Real estate: 2015 begins with familiar trends

Kitsap County’s real estate market picked up in January right where it left off in December.

Sales activity was brisk. Inventory continued to scrape bottom.

According to Northwest Multiple Listing Service, there were 225 closed sales reported in Kitsap in January, the same number as in January 2014.

Pending sales, on the other hand, were up 16 percent from January 2014, promising a boost in closed sales early this year.

The number of available homes in the county just keeps dropping. There were 843 homes available in January, almost 30 percent fewer than in January 2014. Continue reading →

The priciest Kitsap home sales of 2014

Wrapping up my look at the biggest real estate transactions of 2014, here is a list of the 10  highest priced home sales on the Kitsap Peninsula. (I listed the top 10 on Bainbridge Island last week and rounded up the year’s major commercial sales).

The list for the peninsula was dominated by sales in North Kitsap, with one Central Kitsap property slipping in at No. 6. You can see a ranking of Kitsap median home prices by area at the bottom of this post.

Top Kitsap Peninsula Home Sales

These were the most expensive homes sold in Kitsap County in 2014, excluding Bainbridge Island. Details from public records and online listings. 

1. Rural Kingston — $1.23 million

Sale date: Oct. 3

Location: Fir Hollow Drive NE, off Highway 104, near Carpenter Lake

Description: 10 acres of woods and fields; 4,320-square-foot, five-bedroom house built in 2006. Listing here.

2. Lemolo waterfront — $1.12 million

Sale date: April 25

Location: 15000 Block of Lemolo Shore Drive, near the mouth of Liberty Bay

Description: Under an acre of “no-bank” waterfront; 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom house built in 1979.  Listing here.

 3. Jefferson Point waterfront — $1.11 million

Sale date: Feb. 21

Location: 24000 Block of Jefferson Place NE, on Jefferson Point, South Kingston

Description: 3.5-acre property facing; 3,520-square-foot, three-bedroom house built in 1970. Listing here.

Continue reading →

Updates on the Poulsbo CVS, Sonic and more

A veritable construction boom continues in Poulsbo this fall.

So many commercial and residential projects are taking shape across town that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Luckily the city sent out a progress report last week to bring residents up to speed.

Here’s a rundown of where various high profile projects stand, with some links inserted by me:

CVS pharmacy (Hostmark/Hwy 305)

cvs

Onsite site civil work is mostly complete and contractors are concentrating on building construction.

Offsite stormwater system work at Hostmark Street and 6th Avenue is under construction and is expected to be completed in the next two or three weeks. There will be limited traffic interruptions associated with this work.

The CVS and fast food restaurant (yet to be announced) were approved in March. The former Northwest Design Center building was torn down to make way.

Sonic Drive-In (Viking/Hwy 305)

sonic

Site work slowed due to changes in the site plan that are being made but not yet approved. Work in the city right-of-way will begin shortly. There will be limited traffic interruptions.

The Sonic was approved this spring. Early reports suggested the much-anticipated restaurant could be open by the end of the year. Early 2015 is looking more likely.

Residential developments

mnt.aire

Mountain Aire (Noll Road, pictured above) – Offsite sewer work continues. The sewer is now across Noll Road and is working toward the Mountain Aire project. Onsite mass grading is complete and the stormwater pond is nearly complete.

Sommerset (Viking/Vetter area) – Onsite mass grading is complete. Utilities and stormwater pond are under construction.

Vikings Landing (Viking area) – Approximately 80 percent of sitework is complete. Contractors are spreading rock abd working on winterizing the site.

Olympic Crest (Pugh Road/Applewood area) – Onsite grading is nearing completion and contractors are working on utilities and stormwater pond. There will be limited minor traffic interruptions in the area.

 

Continue reading →