Ask anyone who lived in Bremerton for a few years if you should have bought a condo in Kitsap County for almost half a million dollars, and they’d have told you that it was nuts.
Apparently it was…
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/feb/10/kitsap-condo-prices-slide-from-a-year-ago/
It costs a lot less to buy a condominium today in Kitsap County than a year ago, according to new real-estate tracking figures.
The January median closing price of $299,900 was down $135,000 from a year ago. The average closing price fell nearly $87,000, to $346,980, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Even with the lure of new bargains, low interest rates and plenty of choice, the Kitsap condo market has slowed. Only five condo sales closed last month in Kitsap, down from 33 in January 2007.
A Web site for the one of the largest condo complexes in Kitsap — the 180-unit Harbor Square on Bainbridge Island — advertised one unit marked down from $545,000 to $449,000.
Maureen Buckley, owner and broker at Buckley & Buckley Real Real Estate on Bainbridge Island, characterized the island’s condo market is “moseying along” after undergoing big price drops last fall.
Elsewhere in Kitsap, a West Bremerton condo sold for $210,000 last month, and one near Poulsbo closed at $150,000.
Unlike condos, prices for single-family homes in Kitsap County held steady last month compared with a year ago. The median closing price now is at $278,553 and the average at $333,597.
Condos can be very good investments, but you better have some knowledge about what you are doing, and have an agent that has bought a few condos before who can advise you about things the possible pitfalls.
When you buy a condo, you are technically buying “air space,” and while they can go up in price quickly, they can also fall very quicly. From special assesments to housing bubbles, condos are risky, and those buyers who are looking to buy it and “forget about maintenance” are taking a big risk. Researching a condo purchase means doing your homework. Does the condo association have a long term track record of being run well, maintained, and is there an active home owner’s association? How much money is there in the association’s reserve account? I personally recommend that potential condo buyers talk to other owners in the building to find out how they like living in the building, how long they’ve owned a condo in the building, how do they like the home owner’s associations, etc. Living in a condo does not necessarily guaruntee that you will have “worry free” home ownership.
But doing your due diligence up front will help. Personally, I have always recommended that my clients think long and hard before they buy a condo. Buying real estate should be a long term investment and a home, and both factors should be weighed out when judging which home and location is right for you.
A good buyer’s agent, one who knows the area in which he or she works may help you avoid costly mistakes. Maybe you love the location, and you are going to live in the same condo for the next 20 years. Well then, brand new construction, that might dip 150,000 dollars in the short term, might not be a big concern, because in 20 years it will ultimately regain that loss, and probably triple in price on top of it… but if you are planning on selling in a few years, risky condo speculation might not be for you.
