My Blog

Leavenworth is experiencing an unseasonably warm winter, to which the downside is likely a short ski and snowmobile season... and maybe as a result less visitors. The upside is summer activities will enjoy a longer playtime window. 

As the holiday season came to a close and the arrival of the new year was near at hand we saw real estate activity begin.  A couple new pending sales surfaced and based on conversations I've had with my colleagues pretty much everyone is receiving a few property inquiries which bodes well for the coming year.  It is interesting to note that given the large volume of condominiums we had inventoried and the lethargic sales activity we saw through the summer and fall months of last year, there's been a number of them that have sold over the winter months.  The resultant sales did come in part because of reductions in asking prices of a year to 18 months ago.  In some cases asking prices were slashed by a good forty percent of initial listing. 

Other areas of the market seemed to fair better as we've seen closed sales remain close to asking prices in residential and land sales. 

So, with some early activity it appears the coming year will have a silver lining and it seems our counterparts in the downtown corridor are feeling good about the year past and the year ahead as well.

Sales in the retail core proved to be good through the early winter months and Christmas lighting... all three weeks of December and even Christmas day for several shops proved to be profitable. And so, it makes the next two "transition" months more tolerable for retail businesses as we slide into the spring months and the return of visitors to town who no longer feel the angst of winter mountain pass driving.  

As we slide into the new year I know I'll be maintaining a positive outlook and hope you all feel the same.  See you on the street.