There are several issues that make this analysis unrealistic. The distribution of prices for the all the homes for sale is different from the distribution of prices for the homes that actually sell. Also the distribution of prices isn’t uniform from one local market to the next, and with small numbers of sales the results can change drastically from month to month. On Bainbridge Island in March, homes were actually selling at a higher median price than the median price of the listings. This just means that there were more sales in the upper price ranges than in the lower price ranges of the homes listed for sale. If we look at year to date sales on Bainbridge Island, the trend is more typical, with the median listing price being 19% higher than the median sale price. Last month was just a good month for those in the higher price ranges. The large difference in Bremerton shows the impact of distressed sales being a higher percentage of all sales, so closed sale prices are skewed downward from the median of all homes listed for sale.

Each month we publish a snapshot of several local markets to show variations in our larger Kitsap County real estate market. Kitsap County's residential inventory in March (1306 listings) rose less than 1% from February and is about 10% lower than a year ago.  The County has a listing inventory turnover rate of about 6.3 months, faster than the 8.1 month turnover rate in February. The turnover rate for all sales under $400k and above $1 million was less than 8 months. All other price ranges had turnover rates of over 10 months. Inventory turnover is the number of months it would take to sell the current inventory at the current rate of sales. In March, the number of listings rose slightly and the number of sales rose 28% compared to February. Kitsap County's monthly median closed sale price in March ($217,750) was down 4% compared to February and down 4% compared to a year ago. The more stable 3 month moving average (see graph below) of the median closed sale price ($206,717) is 2% lower than last month and about 14% lower than a year ago. The number of pending sales in March was up 33% from a year ago and was up about 25% from February. The links to regional market trends below will show both tables and graphs that further enhance the data reported below. 

See Kitsap County graphs at http://www.bprowse.com/kitsap_market_trends.

Bainbridge Island Real Estate 

Bainbridge Island residential properties were selling for a March median price of $635,000, about 44% higher than in February and 27% higher than than a year ago. Obviously there have been more sales in the higher price ranges, pushing up the median or middle price among sold properties. The more stable three month moving average closed sale price rose 10% from last month to $543,253 and is 12% higher than a year ago. The Kitsap County 3 month moving average median price is about 14% lower than it was a year ago. The 3 month moving average for Bainbridge Island's number of closed sales is about 4% lower than a year ago. The 3 month moving average of closed sales is up 3% Countywide from a year ago. The 3 month moving average number of Bainbridge pending sales in March was up 36% from a year ago. The number of active listings on Bainbridge (196) is 1% higher than in February and 18% higher than a year ago. The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 9.3 months, slower than the 8.5 months in February and slower than the 5.9 months of a year ago. Bainbridge Island is a buyer’s market.

See tables and graphs at http://www.bprowse.com/bainbridge_island_market 

Bremerton Real Estate  

Statistics are for the Bremerton downtown core and west to Kitsap Lake. The market for other parts of Bremerton and its suburbs should be similar. Bremerton homes were selling for a month end median price of $118,500 at the end of March, 1% higher than a year ago and 19% higher than last month. The more stable 3 month moving average median price ($110,983) was about 16% lower than a year ago and 6% lower than last month. The Kitsap County 3 month moving average median price is about 14% lower than it was a year ago. Bremerton's 3 month moving average for number of closed sales is 21% higher than a year ago and 2% higher than last month. The 3 month moving average of closed sales is up 3% Countywide from a year ago. The 3 month moving average number of Bremerton pending sales is up 50% from last year. The number of Bremerton active listings (104) is 6% lower than a year ago and 5% lower than last month. The inventory turnover (total Bremerton homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 5.5 months, faster than both the 6.1 month turnover last month and the 6.1 month turnover of a year ago. The Bremerton market is still a buyer’s market.

See tables and graphs at http://bprowse.com/bremerton_market  

North Kitsap Real Estate 

Statistics here are for Kingston, the largest of the remaining housing markets in North Kitsap. Activity in Kingston should be representative of the other nearby communities. Kingston homes were selling for a month end median price of about $286,000 at the end of March, 16% higher than a year ago and 85% higher than last month. Month-to-month fluctuations in the low volume Kingston market make these raw numbers difficult to interpret. The more stable 3 month moving average ($235,317) of closed sale price is 5% higher than a year ago. The Kitsap County 3 month moving average median price is about 14% lower than it was a year ago. The 3 month moving average of Kingston closed sales was 36% higher than a year ago, while the number of pending sales was 100% higher than a year ago. The 3 month moving average of closed sales is up 3% Countywide from a year ago. The number of active listings in Kingston (49) is the same as a year ago. The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 4.9 months, much faster than the 14.7 month turnover reported last month and slower than the 12.3 month turnover of a year ago. Kingston is still a buyer's market. 

See tables and graphs at http://bprowse.com/north_kitsap_market  

Poulsbo Real Estate 

These statistics are for Poulsbo, including the downtown core, from the head of Liberty Bay southeast to Ne-Si-Ka Bay, and parts north to Sawdust Hill Rd. Other parts of Poulsbo and its suburbs should have similar trends. The March median sales price for Poulsbo was $264,500, down about 6% from a year ago and up about 3% from last month. The more stable three month moving average closed sale price was $243,833, about 17% lower than a year ago.  The Kitsap County 3 month moving average median price is about 14% lower than it was a year ago. The 3 month moving average number of closed sales in Poulsbo fell 3% from a year ago. The 3 month moving average of closed sales is up 3% Countywide from a year ago. Poulsbo’s 3 month moving average of pending sales was up 6% from a year ago. The Poulsbo listing inventory (99) is 10% lower than a year ago and 29% higher than last month - inventory is building quickly! The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) fell slightly to 7.1 months from last month’s 5.9 month turnover rate and is faster than the 10 months reported a year ago. Poulsbo is a buyer’s market.

See tables and graphs at http://bprowse.com/poulsbo_market  

Silverdale Real Estate

Homes in Silverdale were selling for a March median price of about $254,225, 4% lower than a year ago and 33% higher than last month. Silverdale's more stable 3 month moving average median closed sale price was $221,458, 1% lower than last month and about 18% lower than a year ago. The Kitsap County 3 month moving average median price is about 14% lower than it was a year ago. The 3 month moving average for Silverdale's number of closed sales is 52% higher than a year ago. The 3 month moving average of closed sales is up 3% Countywide from a year ago.  The 3 month moving average of Silverdale pending sales in March was 77% higher than a year ago. The number of active listings in Silverdale (79) is 19% lower than a year ago. The inventory turnover (total homes on the market divided by number sold last month) is 4.9 months, considerably faster than the 8.8 months reported last month and faster than the 14 month turnover of a year ago. Silverdale is a buyer's market.

See tables and graphs at http://bprowse.com/silverdale_market 

That’s our local market report for April! Please give me a call if I can help you or anyone you know with purchasing or selling a home. 

Brenda Prowse