Change is hard, and when your hometown bank fails and is bought up by a regional bank, that's change that hurts. On Friday regulators closed Bainbridge Island-based American Marine Bank and when I drove by Saturday morning I saw it was re-opened as Columbia State Bank. A temporary sign hung over the door, and it was business as usual. Read more by clicking here.
What does this mean for Bainbridge Island? That remains to be seen. American Marine Bank was created by a group of local Island businessmen in 1948, when banking for folks living on Bainbridge meant taking the ferry to Seattle. AMB built to twelve branches throughout the region with the company headquarters based on Bainbridge. Jobs may be lost over the next year, and certainly a part of our story has closed its final chapter. The news made the AP wire and Huffington Post picked up the story as one of 15 banks closing in the month of January. AMB wasn't the biggest bank that failed last month, but it wasn't the smallest either.
The good news is that Bainbridge has grown since the days when AMB first began, and we have several national and regional banks on the island. Those of us who have our money deposited at AMB haven't lost a dime.
The real lesson here is a good one for businesses and individuals. Don't borrow more than you can repay; don't loan more than you can afford to lose. And, reputation is hard won and easily lost. AMB~RIP.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tax credit for 1st-time and experienced homeowners~
But fewer people are aware that if you've lived in your home for a consecutive 5 of the last 8 years, you could qualify to receive up to $6,500 credit against your 2009 or 2010 taxes when you buy another principle residence. The paperwork required is fairly straightforward--a HUD-1 Settlement Statement from a closed transaction anywhere between November 7, 2009, and June 30, 2010 (in contract to purcase before April 30th,) and proof of your prior residence.
There are some income restrictions, but essentially this is easy money. If buying a new home is in your plans this year, it may make good sense to act sooner rather than later. Furthermore, interest rates are still low--below 5% again for conforming loans with 1 point. In this buyer's market, it's not uncommon to negotiate to have the Sellers pay down the loan rate.
Here's a gorgeous home I have listed that just had a $51,000 price drop to $799,000. It's beautifully located on Tiffany Meadows, a quiet street just off Ferncliff on Bainbridge Island. It's .5 miles to the ferry terminal, and under a mile to the center of Winslow village shops and restaurants. The home has a lovely view of the 10th green of Wing Point Country Club and the home and gardens are professionally designed with an artist's eye. Here's a link to a full preview: Tiffany Meadows home. This would be a great place to call home, and pocket $6,500 at the same time. For a link to all properties available on Bainbridge Island, please click here.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Bainbridge Island commute by ferry is gorgeous~
Because I work on the island, I'm not usually lucky enough to be out on the water as the sun is rising. Yesterday was a lucky exception, as I had to be on the 7:55 ferry for a continuing education class in South Lake Union. Here's the image I shot with my ever-present iPhone as the sun rose and a bicyclist sped by. I love the sunrise reflected in the car windows and on the waters of Eagle Harbor.It was a day for rising! The tides have had record highs this week. The tide in Eagle Harbor was 3.7 meters at 8:05 a.m., just as the ferry pulled out of the bay and headed south parallel to Rockaway Beach. (My iPhone has an app for that--I can look up the tidal charts for our area for any given day.) Local artist Kathe Fraga said she chatted with a long-time Islander who said he hadn't seen such high tides since 1935. The weather warnings said we had "astronomically high tides" coupled with "low atmospheric pressures," which sent the waters lapping over the tops of seawalls and bulkheads.
Eagle Harbor looked like Safeco Field after the last out. I have never seen so much floating debris in the bay. Everywhere giant tree trunks and logs were bobbing in the surf. I would think small crafts would want to stay in the marina. Clearly the saturated soils and the high winds of last week brought down trees throughout the Puget Sound, and it looked like most of them washed in with the tide.
It was a morning to make me envy my neighbors who head to Seattle for work every morning while I sip a second cup of coffee at my kitchen table.
UPDATE: 01/23/10
This morning the front page of the Kitsap Sun had more information on our high tides this week. Quoting Andy Haner of the National Weather Service in Seattle, three forces account for higher tides--the sun, the moon, and low pressure. Although the tide for Thursday was only predicted to be 12 feet, in fact at 8:24 Thursday the tide was measured at 13.8 feet. He said the models that predict tides don't take air pressure into account very well, but the National Weather Service is working on models that within two years may be able to predict when super-high tides are likely. For photos of the effects of Thursday's "perfect storm," here's a link to the whole article: Kitsap Sun "Tides".
Sunday, January 17, 2010
End of year market analysis of Bainbridge Island real estate~
It's been a year with lots of ups and downs for most people in most areas of their lives. That's certainly been true in the real estate world on Bainbridge Island. The good news is that we finished strong, with all the numbers going in the right direction.
The number of listed residential properties dropped to a low we haven't seen since 2006--only 174 home listed as of the end of the year. (January has not yet shown a surge of new listings.) That's down 14.3% from the 203 listed homes in December 2008 and down from the 193 listed in the prior month, November 2009.
That's significant, because supply and demand are always at play here. To search for all properties currently available on Bainbridge Island, click here.
We also saw the numbers of Pended Sales and Closed Sales increase over the end of 2008 by healthy margins. Twenty-two homes closed in Dec. 2009 compared to only 13 in 2008, for a strong increase of almost 70%. Pended sales (those listings in a transaction to sell) jumped from 13 in 2008 to 17 in 2009, another strong 30.8% increase.
However, a single month's activity is only a snapshot, and not a trend, certainly. The following graph from Trendgraphix shows the Listed, Pended and Sold numbers over the course of all 2009:
One interesting correlation that is apparent in this graph is the relationship between pended and sold properties. A 100% correlation would mean that every home with signed paperwork would close--and you can see that we're not there. However, the numbers are getting closer, and my personal observation is that more and more transactions are coming to a happy and successful closing, with fewer Buyer's backing out of their purchases. I was pleased this year to have every transaction I participated in ultimately reach a successful closing. Sometimes the lenders made us all hold our breaths (or our tongues,) but my clients have been able to complete their purchases and sales once we've begun.
There is no question that we are still strongly in a Buyer's Market, which is reflected in the prices properties are selling for. As much as we've gone up and down, we're also going around and around, back to the future. Prices have rolled back to about the 2005 level, in both average and the more reliable median prices. Home owners have watched their equity shrink, and that's a difficult ride to be on, especially since we have become accustomed to expecting prices to continue to rise year after year.
Certainly double-digit appreciation was not sustainable here or anywhere, especially without salaries increasing at the same rate. At the height of the real estate market, which in hindsight seems to have been mid-2006 to mid-2007, most people I knew could not afford to buy the homes they were living in. In that way, the adjustment has been healthy. Unfortunately, you can't take "healthy" to the bank, and it's heartbreaking to see people who need to sell, who can't clear enough at closing to cover their debt load.
I'm an optimistic person, and I believe in both the appeal of Bainbridge Island and the economic health of the Greater Seattle Area. I believe that to sell a home today, the price must be realistic and in line with the current market, it must be well prepared, and professionally represented. Buyers are negotiating from a position of strength, which can be a challenge--one that I welcome representing either side in a transaction. Banks are loaning and rates remain low.
One last item (lots to digest) that I'll write more on another day. The Federal Government has extended the tax credit for first-time home buyers, and for current home owners who meet certain criteria.
Will interest rates go up or down? Will prices stabilize here or take another drop? I'm reading the experts and buckling my seat belt for an interesting journey this year. One thing I know for sure--we'll have more perspective when we look back a year from now. Ironically, my best instinct tells me this is a good time both to buy and sell.
The number of listed residential properties dropped to a low we haven't seen since 2006--only 174 home listed as of the end of the year. (January has not yet shown a surge of new listings.) That's down 14.3% from the 203 listed homes in December 2008 and down from the 193 listed in the prior month, November 2009.
That's significant, because supply and demand are always at play here. To search for all properties currently available on Bainbridge Island, click here.
We also saw the numbers of Pended Sales and Closed Sales increase over the end of 2008 by healthy margins. Twenty-two homes closed in Dec. 2009 compared to only 13 in 2008, for a strong increase of almost 70%. Pended sales (those listings in a transaction to sell) jumped from 13 in 2008 to 17 in 2009, another strong 30.8% increase.
However, a single month's activity is only a snapshot, and not a trend, certainly. The following graph from Trendgraphix shows the Listed, Pended and Sold numbers over the course of all 2009:
One interesting correlation that is apparent in this graph is the relationship between pended and sold properties. A 100% correlation would mean that every home with signed paperwork would close--and you can see that we're not there. However, the numbers are getting closer, and my personal observation is that more and more transactions are coming to a happy and successful closing, with fewer Buyer's backing out of their purchases. I was pleased this year to have every transaction I participated in ultimately reach a successful closing. Sometimes the lenders made us all hold our breaths (or our tongues,) but my clients have been able to complete their purchases and sales once we've begun.
There is no question that we are still strongly in a Buyer's Market, which is reflected in the prices properties are selling for. As much as we've gone up and down, we're also going around and around, back to the future. Prices have rolled back to about the 2005 level, in both average and the more reliable median prices. Home owners have watched their equity shrink, and that's a difficult ride to be on, especially since we have become accustomed to expecting prices to continue to rise year after year.
Certainly double-digit appreciation was not sustainable here or anywhere, especially without salaries increasing at the same rate. At the height of the real estate market, which in hindsight seems to have been mid-2006 to mid-2007, most people I knew could not afford to buy the homes they were living in. In that way, the adjustment has been healthy. Unfortunately, you can't take "healthy" to the bank, and it's heartbreaking to see people who need to sell, who can't clear enough at closing to cover their debt load.
I'm an optimistic person, and I believe in both the appeal of Bainbridge Island and the economic health of the Greater Seattle Area. I believe that to sell a home today, the price must be realistic and in line with the current market, it must be well prepared, and professionally represented. Buyers are negotiating from a position of strength, which can be a challenge--one that I welcome representing either side in a transaction. Banks are loaning and rates remain low.
One last item (lots to digest) that I'll write more on another day. The Federal Government has extended the tax credit for first-time home buyers, and for current home owners who meet certain criteria.
Will interest rates go up or down? Will prices stabilize here or take another drop? I'm reading the experts and buckling my seat belt for an interesting journey this year. One thing I know for sure--we'll have more perspective when we look back a year from now. Ironically, my best instinct tells me this is a good time both to buy and sell.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Bainbridge Island competition: A little (strawberry) cannery row? ~
It's a long stretch of the imagination to place John Steinbeck's world onto Bainbridge Island. He's all weathered faces on dust bowl refugees in gritty California neighborhoods. We're all rain on fleece-wearing California refugees hiding out amongst the cedars.
But, now's the time for all good Islanders to bring the worlds together. Our library is calling for submissions to its Bainbridge Island Sketches, a compilation of fictionalized depictions of life here. Change the names, stay under 2,000 words, and revel in the juicy details of your friends and neighbors, the quirkier the better. As the BI Review reported today, "Capture the essence of Bainbridge and its inhabitants in exact and signature details." The great Ann Combs is giving a free workshop on writing the sketches at Eagle Harbor Book Co. this Sunday afternoon at 3. Come on by. I hope to be there with a few of my favorite Bainbridge images and details.
The deadline is October 26th; send entries to Kathleen Thorne thornekm@gmail.com and prepare to win. Selected entries will be read at San Carlos November 1st. That's only fitting, since the majority of our quirkiest residents find their way to San Carlos, many on a regular basis.
I have an additional reward. If any of my clients who have moved to Bainbridge in the last ten years have their entries selected for reading, I'll treat you to your favorite margarita at the San Carlos bar. Get writing!
But, now's the time for all good Islanders to bring the worlds together. Our library is calling for submissions to its Bainbridge Island Sketches, a compilation of fictionalized depictions of life here. Change the names, stay under 2,000 words, and revel in the juicy details of your friends and neighbors, the quirkier the better. As the BI Review reported today, "Capture the essence of Bainbridge and its inhabitants in exact and signature details." The great Ann Combs is giving a free workshop on writing the sketches at Eagle Harbor Book Co. this Sunday afternoon at 3. Come on by. I hope to be there with a few of my favorite Bainbridge images and details.
The deadline is October 26th; send entries to Kathleen Thorne thornekm@gmail.com and prepare to win. Selected entries will be read at San Carlos November 1st. That's only fitting, since the majority of our quirkiest residents find their way to San Carlos, many on a regular basis.
I have an additional reward. If any of my clients who have moved to Bainbridge in the last ten years have their entries selected for reading, I'll treat you to your favorite margarita at the San Carlos bar. Get writing!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Third quarter market analysis Bainbridge Island real estate~
We're just now getting the statistics for the end of September, and we're about to start on the final quarter of 2009. Everybody I talk to wants to know the same thing--how's real estate doing on Bainbridge Island.
One bit of information I've analyzed this past week is helpful. It's an Excel spread sheet that shows the listing/pending ratios that we've been tracking on Bainbridge for the last several years. Some real estate analysts believe that comparing the number of total listings to the number of listings in contract will give you a good view of the health of the marketplace.
At the end of September we had 289 total residential listings, with 47 of those houses in a contract to be sold. That's a 16% "absorption rate," which is significant for two reasons. The first is that conventional wisdom is that 16% is seriously a Buyer's market, and that's not news to anyone.
But, the other significance is that the last time we were close to 16% was July of 2007 at 19%. That's when we had crested the top of the market and had our skis pointed downhill. Little did we know then that this was going to be a black diamon run with moguls! By October of 2007 we real estate agents knew the market had dropped; few of us understood that it had fallen off a cliff. When we look back at the numbers, that free fall is apparent. The absorption rate in May of 2007 was 27%, and by October it was 9%. In one quarter we went from 52 homes in contract to 23 . We've pretty much been bouncing along that bottom ever since.
It was hard to know in the period from the summer of 2006 to the summer of 2007 that we were at the very peak of the marketplace. Some indicators were apparent, and looking back now we can see all the signs. It took courage and vision during that year to sell when everyone else was buying, when prices seemed to be rising with no end. But, nothing has no end.
It is hard now to know if we are at the bottom. Prices are still dropping. It takes courage and vision to buy when few are buying. But, prices are at 2005 level, or lower, interest rates are low, and Sellers are eager to sell. Perhaps a year or two from now we'll all know if indeed this is the bottom. If it is, those who buy now will be congratulating themselves.
One bit of information I've analyzed this past week is helpful. It's an Excel spread sheet that shows the listing/pending ratios that we've been tracking on Bainbridge for the last several years. Some real estate analysts believe that comparing the number of total listings to the number of listings in contract will give you a good view of the health of the marketplace.
At the end of September we had 289 total residential listings, with 47 of those houses in a contract to be sold. That's a 16% "absorption rate," which is significant for two reasons. The first is that conventional wisdom is that 16% is seriously a Buyer's market, and that's not news to anyone.
But, the other significance is that the last time we were close to 16% was July of 2007 at 19%. That's when we had crested the top of the market and had our skis pointed downhill. Little did we know then that this was going to be a black diamon run with moguls! By October of 2007 we real estate agents knew the market had dropped; few of us understood that it had fallen off a cliff. When we look back at the numbers, that free fall is apparent. The absorption rate in May of 2007 was 27%, and by October it was 9%. In one quarter we went from 52 homes in contract to 23 . We've pretty much been bouncing along that bottom ever since.
It was hard to know in the period from the summer of 2006 to the summer of 2007 that we were at the very peak of the marketplace. Some indicators were apparent, and looking back now we can see all the signs. It took courage and vision during that year to sell when everyone else was buying, when prices seemed to be rising with no end. But, nothing has no end.
It is hard now to know if we are at the bottom. Prices are still dropping. It takes courage and vision to buy when few are buying. But, prices are at 2005 level, or lower, interest rates are low, and Sellers are eager to sell. Perhaps a year or two from now we'll all know if indeed this is the bottom. If it is, those who buy now will be congratulating themselves.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Advantages of making Bainbridge Island home and playing in Seattle~
It doesn't take much to remind me of the advantages of living on Bainbridge Island. My dear husband and I had a date night in Seattle yesterday, and the reminders were everywhere. We had tickets to "Wicked," at the Paramount, and took an early ferry so we could do some shopping and have dinner before the show.
http://www.stgpresents.org/artists/?artist=910
We walked onto the ferry, and took a leisurely stroll through downtown Seattle. The Seahawks game was getting out, and when we caught a glimpse of the freeway, we could see that traffic was backed up and moving slowly. Event parking at the Paramount was $20 a car. We weren't affected by either of these things. When the play finished a $6 cab ride had us back to the ferry terminal in time for the 9:45 ferry.
Those of us lucky enough to live and work on Bainbridge don't commute into the city every day. Those Islanders who do experience all that Seattle offers, and through their work they are an integral part of that great city. Sometimes it takes an extra effort for the rest of us to make plans, buy tickets and get into the city, but it's such a luxury to have Seattle so nearby.
And, for all of us, it's a joy to return to the peaceful island at the end of the day.
http://www.stgpresents.org/artists/?artist=910
We walked onto the ferry, and took a leisurely stroll through downtown Seattle. The Seahawks game was getting out, and when we caught a glimpse of the freeway, we could see that traffic was backed up and moving slowly. Event parking at the Paramount was $20 a car. We weren't affected by either of these things. When the play finished a $6 cab ride had us back to the ferry terminal in time for the 9:45 ferry.
Those of us lucky enough to live and work on Bainbridge don't commute into the city every day. Those Islanders who do experience all that Seattle offers, and through their work they are an integral part of that great city. Sometimes it takes an extra effort for the rest of us to make plans, buy tickets and get into the city, but it's such a luxury to have Seattle so nearby.
And, for all of us, it's a joy to return to the peaceful island at the end of the day.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Bainbridge Island to Seattle: most beautiful ferry ride in the US~
Budget Travel magazine has just listed the most beautiful ferry rides in the United States, and the 35-minute ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island was prominently featured. (We who live on "the rock" tend to think of it as the Bainbridge to Seattle ferry.) Here's the link to the article: http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR2009042301954.htmlYou'll find four pictures featuring the Seattle skyline and the beautiful Puget Sound. They recommend spending time shopping, dining and hiking the trails on Bainbridge. Finally, they recommend staying long enough to make a sunset crossing back to the city, which made me smile since the sun sets around 10 p.m. in the summer! That would make for a great day on the Island.
The grammar of Bainbridge Island real estate~
Today's blog is all about grammar, which seems like an unlikely subject for real estate. Yet, one of an agent's many duties is writing those all-important descriptions of properties, the ones where we're supposed to both accurately describe the premises and capture the imaginations of potential buyers. Clichés abound, and originality can have its problems. Errors slip in more often than not.
I'm a former English teacher raised in a family of English teachers, so I'm hard-wired to be picky. My own pet peeves are the word "separate" spelled "seperate" and the modifier "unique" itself modified. We see the phrase "truly unique" used frequently, as if some property is more than one-of-a-kind.
The Bainbridge Review famously ran an ad for a beach-side property that featured "all day sun on a south-facing dick," which makes you wonder what the neighbors thought, and if the feature would stay with the house--hopefully, not. I've seen ads for mini-tutors, teachers short on patience, no doubt. And, one home was listed as having "gentile" style, much to the agent's chagrin.
The National Association of Realtors insists that the word "realtors" should be both capitalized and followed by a trademark symbol, which usually doesn't happen. Furthermore, many realtors pronounce the word "real-a-tors," which seems wrong on many levels. But the issue I can't get around is whether we should hyphenate "real estate agents." The standard journalistic style books, including those of the venerable New York Times, require compound modifiers to be hyphenated. Ergo, it should be "real-estate agents." I suspect none of us uses that form.
Clearly it's a slow day in real estate, and this Realtor®, looking at the rain, is glad to be a real-estate agent who's staying indoors today.
I'm a former English teacher raised in a family of English teachers, so I'm hard-wired to be picky. My own pet peeves are the word "separate" spelled "seperate" and the modifier "unique" itself modified. We see the phrase "truly unique" used frequently, as if some property is more than one-of-a-kind.
The Bainbridge Review famously ran an ad for a beach-side property that featured "all day sun on a south-facing dick," which makes you wonder what the neighbors thought, and if the feature would stay with the house--hopefully, not. I've seen ads for mini-tutors, teachers short on patience, no doubt. And, one home was listed as having "gentile" style, much to the agent's chagrin.
The National Association of Realtors insists that the word "realtors" should be both capitalized and followed by a trademark symbol, which usually doesn't happen. Furthermore, many realtors pronounce the word "real-a-tors," which seems wrong on many levels. But the issue I can't get around is whether we should hyphenate "real estate agents." The standard journalistic style books, including those of the venerable New York Times, require compound modifiers to be hyphenated. Ergo, it should be "real-estate agents." I suspect none of us uses that form.
Clearly it's a slow day in real estate, and this Realtor®, looking at the rain, is glad to be a real-estate agent who's staying indoors today.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Harbour Public House on Bainbridge Island named a great seafood dive~
May "Coastal Living Magazine has named our "Pub"--Harbour Public House--as one of America's best seafood dives. Best, yes. But, dive...? In an article called, "America's Best Seafood Dives," they call out two places in Seattle (Lowell's in Pike Place and Spud Fish & Chips in Alki) and one in Gig Harbor (The Tides Tavern), but they recognized our Pub's "seasonal menu...including top-rated fish-and-chips.
My soon-to-be-son-in-law from England, deemed the Harbour Public House "a proper pub," and so it is. From there on a clear day the views of the harbor and marina can stretch all the way to the Seattle skyline and beyond to the Cascades. It's the place our out-of-town visitors always insist on visiting. The beers are cold and on tap, the company is great, and it's almost time for mojitos on the patio. More than one client thinking about moving to Bainbridge Island has "sealed the deal," at the Pub and decided to make Bainbridge home. I'll see you there soon.
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