‘Sellers Overestimating Appreciation’ In Washington
The Bellingham Herald has this update from Washington. “It appears the Whatcom County real estate market is continuing a transition from a seller’s market to one that is more balanced between buyer and seller. Inventory and days on the market continue to rise. Sellers sometimes must mark down original prices but are still getting offers slightly higher than last year, said associate broker Jim Pope.”
“‘It’s not because home prices are going down, but because sellers are overestimating the amount of appreciation,’ Pope said.”
“With more homes on the market, last year’s frenzy of multiple bids on just about any house up for sale hasn’t been repeated, some local agents said. That was a relief for Susan Burke. She is in the final closing process and plans on moving in later this summer.”
“‘When I saw how much homes were going for in Bellingham, I was concerned that we would be dealing with multiple bids,’ said Burke, who is an economist moving here with her family from Davis, Calif. ‘As far as I know, there were no other offers on the house we found. We spent more than we thought, but we are very happy to be moving to Bellingham.’”
“Although real estate agent Mike Kent believes Bellingham homes are overvalued, he doesn’t see prices going down. ‘There was a study to suggest Bellingham home prices will rise around 10 percent this year, and I think it’s right,’ Kent said. ‘We’re in for a more normal year in real estate. If buyers are waiting for the prices to go down, that would be a big mistake.’”
“Other factors involved continue to affect the market. The biggest, in Kent’s mind, is outside influences. ‘There continues to be a significant amount of people transferring equity into this market from places such as California,’ Kent said. ‘What makes Whatcom County different from other overvalued markets is that we don’t see as many homes being purchased and being flipped.’”
“Through April 30, 2,252 properties sold in Whatcom County. Of those, at least 341 were purchased by people outside of Washington state, according to statistics gathered by a real estate publication.”
“The number could be higher because it can be difficult to pinpoint where people are coming from, said publisher Bridget Witschger. Also, some people list the house they are buying as their address, rather than where they are moving from. Topping the list of out-of-state home buyers are people from California, followed by British Columbia.”
“With many new homes becoming available because of last year’s construction boom, supply has increased, creating a more balanced market, said Peter Roberts, president of the Whatcom County Association of Realtors. ‘Buyers believe it’s more a balanced market, while there are many sellers who believe it’s a seller’s market, so they are insisting on putting out higher asking prices, and those homes are sitting on the market longer,’ Roberts said.”
“‘I don’t believe there is a real-estate bubble here,’ said Roberts. ‘The only thing that is happening now is we’re getting back to a more normal year. We won’t see homes appreciate like they have the past few years, but they will still go up a little, but certainly not go down.’”
“‘If interest rates rise, I would be concerned about a bubble or a bunch of foreclosures if we lived in a community where we had a significant number of people leaving the area or there was a rash of flipping the home, but I don’t think we’ll see that,’ Kent said.”