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Old 02-09-2014, 05:09 PM
 
Location: North County San Diego
18 posts, read 41,291 times
Reputation: 12

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We have been looking at homes through all the websites online in Gig Harbor and the Poulsbo area. Why are there so many empty homes for sale in these areas? Gig Harbor has more but also appears to have more homes on the market than Poulsbo, but they both have a lot of empty properties. I am not referring to the Foreclosed or Short Sale homes.
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Old 02-09-2014, 05:22 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,066 posts, read 80,100,596 times
Reputation: 56846
If I had to guess, I would say that they belonged to retired folks, who had to go into an assisted living place, and the homes are being sold after they moved out. The same is common in Sequim. These are less expensive areas that are nice, and people like to retire there and still be fairly close to their families in Seattle and the eastside.
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Old 02-09-2014, 07:57 PM
 
Location: North County San Diego
18 posts, read 41,291 times
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Hemlock, That makes some sense, but many of these empty properties have Jungle-Jim's and Swing-sets outside. For me not condusive to a retirement environment, at least here in San Diego. I realize that housing styles are extremely different between the two areas ( not seeing many red tile roofs which is a good thing). In Sequim the housing looks more suited for retirement than say the properties I have viewed in Gig Harbor. I realize I have a lot to learn about this beautiful state and welcome any and all comments. Just wondering why so many empty homes that have been on the market for an extended time period without much price reduction. It is also very obvious that many of the properties have been "staged". Curious, because some ( Realtors) feel the market is thriving in these areas. Perhaps that is because I am coming from Southern California and gave them far too high a limit on price. I was advised on this board not to do that and it appears I was given good advise. We are very experienced property buyers, having purchased 15 plus properties although all in San Diego County and the Palm Springs area. Usually at least from our experience is that empty homes and a lot of them isn't a sign of a strong market. Maybe this should be in a Real Estate Forum.
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Old 02-09-2014, 08:33 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,066 posts, read 80,100,596 times
Reputation: 56846
You would be surprised about the jungle jims, we have a little tricycle and other toys around for the grandkids. Here where I am and in Seattle, homes are selling the first few days or week, many with multiple offers. Those areas that require a ferry to get to Seattle are just a lot slower to sell, because there are no jobs in the areas other than some retail. The same in Poulsbo will be a good 40% less than in Issaquah, Redmond or Sammamish and is not going to go up nearly as fast. Gig harbor is more convenient to Tacoma where they are mostly blue collar jobs, not the high paying tech jobs of the Seattle and eastside areas.

For people looking for a place to live but don't need to work, or work from home, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Port Orchard and Gig Harbor are great. For investors, a fixer/foreclosure deal close in where Amazon, Microsoft or Boeing people want to live is better. Not a lot to be made though, since even those get multiple cash offers.
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Old 02-09-2014, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Westside Puget Sound
301 posts, read 515,960 times
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I'm not in real estate and I can't speak for Gig Harbor, but Poulsbo does have a large navy population. Perhaps owners who have been reassigned are likely to let their houses stay empty until they sell instead of trying to rent them out.
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Old 02-10-2014, 08:18 AM
 
Location: Near Sequim, WA
576 posts, read 2,251,303 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwoods49 View Post
We are very experienced property buyers, having purchased 15 plus properties although all in San Diego County and the Palm Springs area. Usually at least from our experience is that empty homes and a lot of them isn't a sign of a strong market.
I agree with this observation and think that it's spot on. IMO it answers, to a large degree, the question posed in your OP. The real estate market regionally has recovered some but is still far cry from what I would consider "strong" and remains mostly "flat".
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Old 02-10-2014, 12:45 PM
 
21,988 posts, read 15,601,484 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dendrite View Post
I agree with this observation and think that it's spot on. IMO it answers, to a large degree, the question posed in your OP. The real estate market regionally has recovered some but is still far cry from what I would consider "strong" and remains mostly "flat".
I would not correlate an empty house with a flat housing market. Often the seller simply has the means to buy another home and has already moved. Have you ever lived in a house while it's on the market? It's inconvenient to receive calls to leave so prospective buyers can view the home at any given moment. If one has the means to move into the new house before selling an existing home, it is far less disruptive to daily life and an empty house is easier for most people to see themselves in.

We saw a neighbor moving out of their home over the course of a week, the house listed that weekend and went pending before the weekend was out. The sellers must have been pretty confident the house would sell quickly and didn't want to deal with the inconvenience.
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Old 02-10-2014, 02:27 PM
 
Location: North County San Diego
18 posts, read 41,291 times
Reputation: 12
Most of these homes I am speaking about have been on the market for awhile, many of them over 3 month some longer. These did not become empty and go pending the next weekend. Yes Seacove, selling a house is disruptive, but usually a home shows much better when it is furnished rather than empty. Anyway that is my experience.

Thanks for replying everyone. I was just curious and wondered if there was a particular reason.
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Old 02-11-2014, 07:06 PM
 
16 posts, read 22,314 times
Reputation: 21
Default Cost!

Nobody wants to spend $400,000.00 for a home worth $300,000.00.
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