My Blog

The U.S economy has been a strong backbone of the world economic body and our consumptive nature has done a good bit to keep it that way. The financial market grew bigger and real estate equities increased. And we rode along merrily as it swelled upward every higher, seemingly no end in sight. And as we trundled along, occasionally was heard the statement "Don't know when, but one day it's going to end".

The nation finally saw the backbone break and prosperity slid away for many. Here in the northwest and particularly North Central Washington we have not felt the hardship quite as badly as other areas of the country. There are a number of factors that play into our good fortune, one being the fruit industry. Another is a lot of the people migrating here are bringing their money with'em and aren't reliant on a job for their daily existence.

2008 was not a great year in real estate for many Realtors, the pinch was felt as business seemed to "suddenly disappear, nobody was equity diminishing. And then 2009 arrived and the vault was sealed tight for five months into the year. Not a single pending sale recorded in the upper valley: Cashmere to Leavenworth and up toward Lake Wenatchee - nothing. And then it began albeit slowly and only moderately throughout the year.

2009 saw a total of 117 real estate transactions in the upper valley, 62 of those were residential sales. Five sales were under $200,000, 19 were $200,000 to $299,000, 14 were in the $300's and 12 in the $400K price range. The rest of the sales were spread pretty evenly in the five hundreds and up to and including one sale over $1,000,000. The interesting statistics in all this are 1) number of units sold in December of "09" was off 40% over 12/08; 2) the average SELLING price of 12/09 residential sales prices was only 2% under December of the prior year. It suggests low seller motivation and a few buyers who must have really wanted, or needed to be here. It wasn’t all roses as there were a few transactions in the "blue light special" isle. For the most part sellers seemed to get what they were asking.

It's hard to imagine sales volume will be lower this year than last, doesn't seem possible given the fairly good start for the year. 2010 has started well with 15 closed sales as we roll through February. On the surface it appears to me that folks have accepted the reality of the economy. It seems they’re thinking there’s light at the end of the tunnel so, I'll just move back into the market albeit slowly. In the long run the financial and real estate markets will return and it will be all good one more time. After all, we need only turn the pages of the history books back to see how predictable it all really is.

A real estate purchase isn’t typically viewed as a short-term investment. Rather a weekend get-a-way or that full time residence we've always dreamed of is an investment in our pleasure and comfort. So, the long run is on my side and I and my family might as well pursue that Leavenworth Lifestyle.