Real Estate Market in Sequim, Washington (Port Angeles: sales, foreclosures, mobile home)

[luckyladylv]

Hi Everyone! It has been awhile since my last post. My brother is still looking to buy land in Sequim to live there and possibly for investment. Does anyone have an update about the real estate market? Rumor has it that there are a lot of home foreclosures going on. Does anyone have any new info on the market there and what is going on?

My brother is going to fly up again to check out some land ads but wants to know more about the market potential.

[StealthRabbit]

do some searching in this thread on Sequim, and you should find lots of info from a previous poster (Sequim resident) who was recently axed. Very knowledgable stuff from his posts.

I don't think you will find lots of repos in this area, as most folks who invest there are savvy and cash flow intelligent. There might be some speculators who get shorted, but no market crashes in the favorable spots in PNW. Sequim been a popular investment destination for the 25+ yrs I've been here...this is not the time to over-buy, but I wouldn't expect any bargains in the near future, there is still a lot of cash out there from those who have been selling off in our current 'low-tax' climate (temporary benefit). It never hurts to look, and to make offers. I have a friend who does the repo purchase thing as a principle business and has most of the prime counties pretty well staffed with his fulltime 'property hunters / buyers' and has lots of investors and capital. I'll ask of his success for that region.

[silverfox]

Here are my current observations.

The land sales basically almost crashed about 9 months ago but have started to level off a bit now. The strange thing is that prices have not come down very much YET. The inventory of exsisting homes has gone up and there are some price reductions now showing up. Overall Sequim has held up fairly well to this point, but this Spring and Summer should reveal if this is going to steady or not. Real Esatate agents here that I have talked to refuse to openly admit that things are slowing unless you ask them outright. I can understand that as they are still in denial anything has changed. They have had it their way for quite a while..
I personally know of one land developement close in to town with 54 nice lots that has been a disaster so far. Only one sale in approx 1 year from what I can see. That wouldn't have been conceivable 1 1/2 years ago when everything was selling almost immediately.
Because Western Washington in general has been a Prime Destination for so many people, the markets have held up pretty well as compared to the markets overall.
My feelings do not "bode well" for the future as I think we are only in the beginning innings of a much deeper Real Estate decline ahead.
I have personally sold all of my Real Estate holdings at what I consider "top prices" and will wait for a prime opportunity to re-enter. It may be a while.

Silverfox

[Kathleenh54]

We were psyched about Sequim based on what we'd read. Then we took a trip up there. It wasn't impressive at all. Little-box houses in rows, mobile homes, a downtown area distinctly lacking in charm. We turned around, gladly, and drove out of there.

[Kingsnkali]

I have never seen what people find captivating about Sequim. It always seemed like a poorly planned town. Just a grassy slope with buildings and senior discounts. Bland and boring.

I always liked Port Angeles much better even though it gets more rain and much of the downtown has seen its better days.