PORT ANGELES — While it’s probably not a good time to sell your house, a Port Angeles Realtor said this week it is “truly a great time to buy.”
Dick Pilling, current member and past president of the Port Angeles Association of Realtors, told about 100 people at the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday that the inventory is well-stocked and mortgage rates “have never been this good for the last 25 years.”
“We are in a buyer’s market,” he said.
A person selling a home in the current real estate market could make up the loss by buying another home and watching the value climb, Pilling said.
“It would be truly a shame to miss this market,” said Pilling, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Uptown Realty in Port Angeles.
Pilling displayed more than a dozen charts and graphs to support his remarks on real estate trends in the Port Angeles market, which spans the area from McDonald Creek on the east to Twin Rivers on the west.
Average home price
He said the average price of a Port Angeles home was $126,000 in 1998. He said home values climbed to $263,000 in 2007 and fell to $176,000 last year.
“Real estate has gone through these cycles throughout history and will continue to do so,” Pilling told the crowd at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles.
“We can look forward to these continuing cycles because real estate, like any other commodity, is subject to the law of supply and demand,” he added.
The co-speaker at the weekly chamber luncheon was Port Angeles Association of Realtors President Kelly Johnson, who is with Windermere Real Estate in Port Angeles.
In Port Angeles, a Realtor must be a member of the National Association of Realtors, Washington Realtors and the Port Angeles Association of Realtors to be considered a Realtor.
“Just selling real estate does not make you a Realtor,” Johnson said.
“You have to be special, and you have to work for it.”
Johnson gave an overview of the association and the many local fundraisers it supports.
Residential sales
Residential sales in the Port Angeles real estate market peaked at about 600 sales in 2004, Pilling said. Yearly sales fell to about 300 in 2008.
That number has remained constant in each of the past four years.
“In 2006, to sell a house, all you had to do was poke a sign in the ground, and money spurted out,” Pilling said.
“In 2008, things went down. Again, we’re seeing a leveling-off of this market.”
Pilling said the current economy has “changed the game” because it drove up supply.
Foreclosures
Clallam County had $26 million worth of residential foreclosures in 2011 on 152 sales, Pilling said.
Four of those foreclosed properties were sold at auction. The rest reverted back to the bank and became real estate-owned, or REOs.
REOs, short sales and estate sales — all of which typically sell below market — accounted for 36 percent of the 318 properties sold in 2010 and 42 percent of the 303 properties sold in 2011.
“The cheaper houses are selling first and tending to drive down the entire market,” Pilling said.
Commercial market
Asked how the commercial real estate market stacks up to the residential market, Pilling said the commercial side is “probably a little bleaker right now, but again, showing signs of life.”
He cited Country Aire Natural Foods moving into the former Gottschalks building on First and Oak streets in downtown Port Angeles.
“There is hope there as well,” Pilling said.
Pilling provided the following definitions for key real estate terms:
■ An underwater home: The owner owes more than the property is worth.
“Normally, this is not a big deal, unless you have to sell your home for some reason,” Pilling said.
“If you do, you may have to bring money to the closing table to complete the transition. This is never a good thing.”
Underwater homes
A good number of homes purchased after 2003 are underwater, Pilling added.
■ Short sale: The proceeds from the sale are less than the debt owed on the house.
The seller has to request the lien holders to release the lien and accept less than what is owed.
“Short sales may or may not mean that the debt is discharged,” Pilling said.
“This must be negotiated, and the seller should have this reviewed by legal counsel. Make sure you know what you’re signing.”
■ Foreclosure: The process that lien holders use to terminate the borrower’s right to retain the title to the property.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
