PORT TOWNSEND –– Powered by a strong demand for Port Ludlow homes, the Jefferson County housing market continued a strong recovery through the first half of the year, as more homes sold for a higher average price through June than at the same point last year.
“More things are moving,” said Dick Pilling, spokesman for the Port Angeles Association of Realtors.
“Obviously, when you’re having a comeback, the faster movers are going to be the lower-priced houses,” Pilling said.
The Seattle real estate market tends to bleed over to the North Olympic Peninsula, he said, and right now, metro real estate is booming as more homes priced at $1 million and up are selling now than at any time since 2007, before the real estate crash.
“Brokers in the Seattle market are keeping busy as multiple offers and cash buyers dominate new, well-priced listings in most markets,” said John Deely, a director with the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
There were 232 homes sold in Jefferson County in 2014’s first half, up from the 212 sold in the first half of 2013, a 9.4 percent increase, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Those homes sold for an average price of $280,181, up from the $275,734 average price from the same point last year.
Those prices should continue to rise, as the total number of homes on the market in June is down from the 501 at the end of June 2013 to 440 at the end of this June.
Typically the engine of the Jefferson County real estate market, Port Townsend sales were close to 2013 levels, with 98 homes sold compared to 93 last year.
Average sale price in Port Townsend was $290,200 during the first half of 2014, a 3.9 percent spike from the $279,041 average price from the first half of 2013.
Much of this year’s increase came in southeast Jefferson County, as the 44 sales in Port Ludlow were up from 37 a year ago, and the 17 homes sold in Port Hadlock topped the 12 from last year.
The average price paid for a Port Hadlock home nearly doubled from last year, selling for an average of $216,488 this year compared to a $118,449 average from last year’s first half.
Ludlow sale prices were up significantly as well, jumping from an average of $270,906 through June 2013 to $306,994 through June of this year.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
