Monday, January 26, 2009

Below is an e-mail that I sent out to my fellow Realtors. that I thought I would share. It has some very useful data and important information telling of the benefits of Ocean Shores over the other Washington Coast beach communities.


Hello Fellow Realtors:

I made a promise to GHAR's Board to give everyone a 2008 end-of-the-year update with the Ocean Shores/North Beach market stats. Yes, one cannot ignore that markets are down everywhere around the entire country and state. But compared to the other Washington beach communities, Ocean Shores reigns supreme with the greatest selection, highest number of sales, and lowest prices.

Ocean Shores: 201 houses, 189 lots and 18 condos sell with median sale prices of $173K, $33K and $232K, respectively.
Compared to the North Beach: 21 houses and 12 lots sell with median sale prices of $193K and $58K, respectively.
Compared to the South Beach: 45 houses, 19 lots, and 4 condos sell with median sales prices of $220K, $20K and $590K, respectively.
Compared to the Long Beach Peninsula: 151 houses, 57 lots and 16 condos sell with median sale prices of $170K, $45K and $159K, respectively.
(CHECK OUT THE CHARTS BELOW)

Ocean Shores also reigns supreme with the number of buildable lots available. All properties have power, city sewer and water in the streets to hook-up to for ease of building. You can also camp on your lot for up to 90 days per year. Ocean Shores also features the greatest number of available and most affordable condos, which are located on the Ocean, Jetty and Grand Canal. Lastly, the City of Ocean Shores Permit Center is comparatively easier to work with for building, clearing, etc.

We also feature the most amenities:
  1. Year-Round Beaches accessible very easily by foot or car.
  2. Parks with boat launches, ball fields, basketball and tennis courts, playgrounds, and much more.
  3. Community Club's Bayshore Clubhouse, which lies directly on the Bay with gorgeous views, an indoor pool, spa, gym, basketball court, cafeteria, game room, and more.
  4. 23 miles of interconnecting fresh water lakes and canals, including the approximately 5-mile long Duck Lake, where you can go boating, water skiing, and fishing, and the Grand Canal, which is the largest canal.
  5. The public 18-hole Golf Course with Driving Range and Putting Green.
  6. The city-owned Airport for smaller, private planes.
  7. Downtown with many large hotels, ie the Shilo and Quality Inn, restaurants, shops, grocery store, churches, family fun centers, ie miniature golf and go-cart race tracks, and much more fun available.
  8. Yearly Events held on the Beach, Convention Center and the rest of the Downtown, including the 4th of July Fireworks, Sandcastle Competitions, Kite Challenge, Clam Digs, and more.

My business partner and I have some other good news: we are ranked #3 in Grays Harbor County for the number of listings closed and volume closed (per NWMLS data). God has really blessed us.

We have also added some new features to our web site (www.oceanshoresrealtor.com):

  1. Brunk Homes: premier spec builder in Ocean Shores
    www.oceanshoresrealtor.com/brunkhomes.html
  2. Community Club's Bayshore Clubhouse pictures
    www.oceanshoresrealtor.com/pics/clubhouse.html
  3. The Boardwalk Shops of Ocean Shores: the band new downtown retail shops
    www.oceanshoresrealtor.com/commercial/boardwalkshops.html
  4. All different kinds of pictures of Ocean Shores and the other Coastal Communities
    www.oceanshoresrealtor.com/pics.html
  5. News Releases/Announcements: Windsurfers, Passing Broker's Test, Snow Storms, and much more
    www.oceanshoresrealtor.com/news.html
  6. And so much more

Yearly Market Activity
January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008

Ocean Shores Market:
Homes Land Condos Total
Current Listings 223 530 57 810
Pendings 9 4 3 16
Solds 201 189 18 408
Sold Volume $39.2M $9M $4.4M $52.6M
Sold Median Price $173K $33K $232,500

North Beach Market:
Homes Land Total
Current Listings 46 107 153
Pendings 0 0 0
Solds 21 12 33
Sold Volume $5.3M $1.28M $6.58M
Sold Median Price $193K $58K

South Beach (Westport/Grayland) Market:
Homes Land Condos Total
Current Listings 75 78 26 179
Pendings 2 0 2 4
Solds 45 19 4 68
Sold Volume $8.8M $1.68M $2.38M $12.86M
Sold Median Price $220K $20K $590K

Long Beach Peninsula (Ilwaco to Ocean Park/Surfside Estates) Market:
Homes Land Condos Total
Current Listings 229 249 45 523
Pendings 10 1 1 12
Solds 151 57 16 224
Sold Volume $29.1M $3.53M $2.92M $35.55M
Sold Median Price $170K $45K $159K

NOTE: All of the above data is pulled from the NWMLS and not guaranteed.


Respectfully Submitted,

April Swenson & Bob McDougal
Coldwell Banker Ocean Shores
888-469-3100 office 360-289-3111 fax 360-589-2777 cell
aswenson25@juno.com
www.oceanshoresrealtor.com