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Welcome and thank you for visiting Kim Skaar and real estate retriever 'Lilly' at Coldwell Banker LCP.
2010 IS LOOKING MORE PROMISING! Prices are down, way down. The sellers that insist on trying to get 2007 prices for their properties are still waiting for a showing or a first offer. The Sellers that are realistic and pricing their properties with current market conditions are getting deals done. Our ramp up of ’04, ’05 and ’06 hit a wall in 2007 and we came back down to 2005 levels. With interest rates at an all time 40 year low and prices rolled back to 2005 there are some smart Buyers out there taking advantage of the marketplace. Price is everything right now and it is a Buyer’s market. Fortunately for our Sellers this is not going to last forever as Chelan County has historically had an average appreciation rate over the past 30 years of 9%.
WHAT ARE SOME HOT PROPERTIES?
Naturally we have some Short Sales and REO’s, Bank Owned properties to deal with. These are very hot as everyone is attracted to a good deal. The REO, Bank
Owned property is much easier to close on as you don’t have the Seller and Lender
both to deal with. We have an average of about 14 such properties at any given time
and when we get 7 of these 14 contingent another 7 Short Sales or REO Foreclosed
properties come up. If you are interested in any of these distressed properties send
Me an email or give me a call for a list. The second popular category is the Chelan Hill’s Community Waterfront home which is the least expensive entry ticket to beaches, docks, tennis courts, pools, parks and a launch ramp on Lake Chelan. The same homes that were
selling a few years ago for $550K are now down to $450K or less. The third popular
category is the cookie cutter downtown Chelan home which you can pick up now for
less than $250K. With 20% down and 5% interest rates and rent approaching $1200
monthly several investors are picking these up. Waterfront prices have taken the biggest
hit and we sold twice as many waterfront properties in 2009 than the year before. Our
new per lineal foot comp is $17K per lineal foot for sandy walk- in beach properties. This
is half of what we were assessed in 2006 when we hit $35K per lineal foot. Waterfront Sellers are chasing each other down in prices and you can get a cabin like structure on Lake Chelan for under $600K now. I can’t wait for our new assessment as we have some very low comps to share with our County Assessor.
WHAT IS NOT SO HOT NOWDAYS?
Lot sales and land sales have almost gone away. Remember in 2006 you could walk into your
bank and sign a note against your home using a home equity loan and have wads of cash deposited into your checking account within a few days? I did this along with millions of Americans. To get a lot loan or land loan now you will need 30% down and be prepared to make payments at 7.5% interest annually. The lenders would rather have you either purchase a home or build a home so they have a more tangible asset as collateral. We have over an 8 year supply of vacant lots in our inventory based on our current absorption rate. Supply and demand says that is too many and only the best priced properties have a chance to sell this year. We just listed a community waterfront lot on Stehekin in Chelan Hills Division 2 for $95K. This is the least expensive lot that will give you access to all the Community Waterfront amenities that are available. In 2003 a lot like this was $65K and in 2006 it was $159K.
WHAT IS OUR OUTLOOK FOR 2010?
We are already seeing more activity and writing offers trying to get Buyers and Sellers together on pricing. We know where are clients come from and that is Seattle. Over 80% of my client base is from the Westside. As long as Boeing and Microsoft continue to do well we will be in good shape here. With over 300 sunshine days a year and a 55 mile long lake that you can see bottom at 40’ down Lake Chelan has a lot to offer. A very smart man named Steve Kludt told me that if you thought the red delicious apple put Lake Chelan on the map just wait and see what our AVA designation will do for us. Steve Kludt tore out his apple trees in the late 80’s and planted grapes when all his neighboring orchardists didn’t understand the vision.
We now have our AVA designation and there are currently 16 wineries in the area. When Walla Walla received their AVA designation they had 12 wineries. Today there are over 120 listed in the Walla Walla region. With good restaurants, wineries, golf, tennis, shopping and Lake Chelan you will love this place. Come see us. Life is good in Lake Chelan.
Lake Chelan just received it's ava (American Vinter Association) designation and will become known as one of the premier grape growing areas in the country. Property prices will rise again and for the Buyers who want to take advantage of the lower pricing you should be searching now. Give me a call at 509.670.2223 or send an email to me at: kimskaar@msn.com and I will send you out a free relocation package with properties to choose from, local events and information about the Chelan Valley.
Let My Experience Work For You!
Life is good in Lake Chelan
Call Kim today!
Cell Phone: (509) 670-2223
Office: (509) 682-7777
Fax: (509) 682-0858
Toll Free: (800) 572-9531
E-mail: kim@chelanproperty.com
The only thing better than visiting Chelan ... is Living Here!
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