Cityofoceanshores.com Newsletter ~ 05.2009

It's the Season!

Here we go again. Another Ocean Shores summer coming right up. This means that tens of thousands of families will be calling Ocean Shores home for a week or two while they're on their summer vacation at the beach. Couples will come visit on weekends. The big events will draw thousands to town. Snow birds will return from the south for their 3 to 6 month stay at the North beach while the weather's nice and it's too hot in the South. Late Spring and Summertime are definitely the months of the year where most people visit the North Coast. And it's obvious with all the events coming up and gas prices being reasonable again, that this year should be a record breaker in terms of traffic and body counts at the beach. For those of us who live here fulltime, just remember that we live in a place where other people like to go on vacation and that's pretty cool. Except for when they pull up to one of those four way stops. That's when it's not very cool anymore.


Ocean Shores Real Estate Update
January had a spark with some sales. February was okay. March was a real busy month with quite a few sales that closed in April. April sales started out strong, but then fizzled. May is looking to take It's still pretty strange these days in real estate. Some days, the phone won't stop ringing and the email inbox fills up with buyers looking for properties and then the next day nothing. Per usual, sales seem to be coming in waves this year. The end of off again now that tax season is behind us and the sun is staying out longer. I expect residential sales to stay pretty close to matching 2008's number in regards to the number of transactions going on. Lots and condo sales are still dreadful even as prices have fallen off the charts. There are some unbelievable prices on condos and lots in town right now. We haven't seen these kind of prices since 2003 or 2004 in some cases.

On another note, we're starting to see multiple offers on some properties these days and that's a great sign that there are plenty of buyers out there looking for a deal. This weekend alone I received two offers on a house listing. One was reasonable, the other was not. There's not much of a science to it, but if the price is right and the timing is right, buyers line up. Those people that made the lowball offer missed out and if they don't step up to the plate now, they're going to end up with a real nice beach house in Aberdeen or Hoquiam. If you don't think the bottom has already hit, you're going to end up paying more for waiting longer. Now's the time to buy.
Here are some real estate numbers as of 5/9/09 for Ocean Shores only. All statistics are supplied from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Residential Sales
22 Homes sold in April 2009 for an average selling price of $182,743. Average time on the market was 146 days. The maximum time for one house was 841 days. Unfortunately, it happens sometimes... There's currently 32 homes are pending around town. I know that 22 home sales for April doesn't sound all that great, but consider the following: 7 houses sold in January this year. Only 8 sold in February and 16 sold in March. Home sales in Ocean Shores for the month of April are most definitely up and the trend looks to stay strong for the remainder of this year. If for some reason you think Ocean Shores is a sluggish real estate market, think again. Our neighbors across the Harbor in Westport only had two home sales in the month of April.

In April of 2008, 22 homes also sold so that's even. Selling price was tad bit higher at $184,023 last year and average time on the market was quite a bit longer at 202 days.

There's 219 homes for sale in Ocean Shores for an average price of $247,517 right now and the average time on market is 234 days.

Condo Sales
5 Condos have sold in 2009 so far for an average selling price of $88,380. Average time on the market was 327 days. The maximum time for one condo was 1,153 days. Ugh. There's currently 6 condos that are pending around town so that's actually an encouragement.

Through May 1st of last year, only 4 Condos had sold for an average sale price of $247,000 (hey, Condos sales are up 20% this year through May 1st!). It's not that condo prices have fallen so hard (from $247,000 in 2008 to $88,380 this year), it's just that the cheaper ones are selling while the more expensive ones have been a bit more difficult to move during recent times.

There are currently 72 Condos for sale in Ocean Shores for an average listing price of $251,805 and the average time on the market is 422 days.

Vacant Lot Sales
11 Lots sold in April 2009 for an average selling price of $40,955 (this includes everything from a cheap interior lot at $16,000 to a waterfront lot for $143,000). Average time on the market was 254 days. The maximum time for one lot was 1,214 days. That seems a bit silly, but I'm not surprised... There's currently 11 lots that are pending around town. Lot sales are dreadful this year...

In April of 2008, 25 lots sold for an average price of $46,372 and time on the market was 172 days. The cheapest lot was sold for $18,000 while the most expensive one sold for $185,000.

There's 583 lots on the market for an average price of $86,922 while the cheapest one comes in at $12,000 (needs fill!) and the most expensive one is an ocean front near the North Jetty for a cool $499,900.
If you have any questions regarding Ocean Shores/North Coast Real Estate, call Jeff Daniel of Coldwell Banker Ocean Beach Properties at 360.581.9020 or visit my website at www.cityofoceanshores.com. Thanks!



Upcoming Events

Kite Challenge
Saturday, June 13 , 2009Sponsored by "Team Cutting Edge Kites" - 2005 & 2006 World Champions. Free kite flying lessons, stunt competitions, fun flies, displays and more.

Flag Day Parade & DanceSaturday, June 13 , 2009A chance to show our patriotic spirit. The parade features more than 75 entries and a Grand Marshall. End the day with dancing and raffle drawings. One of the only Flag Day parades in Western Washington.


WA State Square & Folk Dance Festival
Friday, June 19 - Saturday, June 20, 2009"Let the light shine in 2009" 58th Annual Washington State Square & Folk Dance Festival!

Sand and Sawdust Festival
Friday, June 26 - Sunday, June 28, 2009Five Star Dealerships Sand and Sawdust Festival welcomes you to the beach! Master, Intermediate, & Novice Sand-Sculpting teams compete for over $5,000.00 in cash prizes. At the Convention Center master woodcarvers from all over the world compete in this amazing annual competition. There are vendors, food sales & the live auctions are held daily on carvings! Families & children are invited to enter the sand-sculpting competition or learn sand-sculpting skills at the free lesson offered Friday morning.

Independence Day PicnicFriday, July 3 , 2009The business community of Ocean Shores is sponsoring the annual Ocean Shores Independence Day Picnic on Friday, July 3, 2009 at North Bay Park. Picnic Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free!! Come celebrate the birth of our nation. Bring a blanket and your picnic basket or take advantage of the many food vendors that will be on hand. There will be something fun for all ages at this old-fashioned community friendly event.

Beach News
This is where I've been getting mine lately:



Jeff Daniel Associate Broker
Coldwell Banker Ocean Beach Properties
Phone: 360.581.9020749 Point Brown Ave NW/PMB 1568, Ocean Shores, WA 98569PROPERTY SEARCH: http://www.oceanshoreshomesforsale.com/
OCEAN SHORES WEBSITE: http://www.cityofoceanshores.comOCEAN SHORES BLOG: http://oceanshoresrealestate.blogspot.com
OCEAN SHORES BLOG: http://activerain.com/jeffgdaniel

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