Ocean Shores and North Beach Real Estate along the Washington Coast

Merry Christmas from Beautifully Sunny Ocean Shores, WA on the Washington Coast ~ December 25, 2009 I took these gorgeous pictures of the Beach & Ocean and the Bay & Olympic Mountains on this beautifully sunny Christmas Day. I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ! May we remember the simple things of life and the reason for the season. Christmas Blessings to you all. God Bless, April Swenson Associate Broker & Realtor, Coldwell Banker Ocean Shores 888-469-3100 office 360-289-3111 fax 360-589-2777 cell aswenson25@juno.com http://www.oceanshoresinfo.com/

Ocean Shores/North Beach E-Newsletter Presented by April Swenson, Realtor & Associate Broker for Coldwell Banker Ocean Beach Properties www.OceanShoresInfo.com Welcome to Fall! The leaves are falling. We have had some lovely weather, but the rains are back for a couple of days and then clam digging starts this weekend. CRAFT FAIR 2009 Our annual Craft Fair was held in the Convention Center in September, along with a Mustang Car Display. Click on the following link to view pictures: www.oceanshoresinfo.com/pics/craftfair2009.html ROAD CONSTRUCTION 2009 This has been a very trying time for Ocean Shores residents, especially the businesses. With the unwise move of having road construction on our two main streets and main intersections in downtown Ocean Shores, many businesses have felt the economic pinch from the lack of access. But as we face the many detours and road closures here and there, we must keep a good attitude about it all and know that this is a temporary interruption

OCEAN SHORES WEATHER Rain Storm on Labor Day Weekend September 6, 2009 Labor Day Weekend 2009 was met with gorgous sunny weather and a rain storm . The weather forcasters promised a big rain storm on Friday the 4th, but that day turned out to be a gorgeous day, as well as Saturday the 5th. I was showing in the gorgeous weather on Saturday. But the rain did come, but it was accompanied by thunder and lightening. We do not get many storms with thunder and lightening, so it was neat to listen to. A tree fell in my front yard, but it just fell across the road. These pictures were taken from my front porch. Today is again a beautiful day of sun and partly cloudy with a slight breeze. Always take a chance to visit my web site for pictures, real estate and other info at http://www.oceanshoresinfo.com/ April Swenson Coldwell Banker Ocean Shores Associate Broker & Realtor 360-589-2777 cell aswenson25@juno.com 0 comments • April Swenson ~ Associate Broker & Realtor ~ Ocean Shores Re

OCEAN SHORES REAL ESTATE NEWS Mortgage Insurance is Now Available for Purchasing Vacation/2nd Homes with less than 20% Down Mortgage Insurance is now available on 2nd/vacation homes with the following terms: 1) Purchase or rate/term refinance 2) Up to 90% loan-to-value 3) At least 720 credit score 4) 41% or lower debt ratio This was not sent out from the MI company as a big announcement, so you are some of the first to know! Presented By: Carol Warfield VP Real Estate Loan Representative Central Region 300 E Market Street PO Box 1826 Aberdeen, WA 98520 P: 360.537.4044 C: 360.580.0187 F: 360.533.0489 CWarfield@BankofthePacific.com Visit our website at www.BankofthePacific.com Writing from beautiful Ocean Shores! April Swenson Ocean Shores Washington Realtor Associate Broker, Listing & Selling Agent, Marketing Specialist aswenson25@juno.com www.OceanShoresInfo.com 360-589-2777 cell

Ocean Shores Featured in The Vacouver Sun As One of the Most Popular Places in Washington Our fair beach town of Ocean Shores received some international praise from our neighbor to the north: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the special writers for The Vancouver Sun wrote a piece about Ocean Shores in the Travel Section on January 13, 2009 claiming Ocean Shores as one of the most popular places in Washington . It explained all about Ocean Shores and the fun things to do: hotels, restaurants, shops, games, rides and more. It also went into the history of this peninsula, which was bought for $1M in 1960 and is now assessed of over $670M with about 5,000 full-time residents. Check-out the full story at http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Ocean+Shores/1172868/story.html Writing from beautiful sunny Ocean Shores, Washington! April Swenson Associate Broker & Realtor 360-589-2777 cell aswenson25@juno.com

Ocean Shores/North Beach E-Newsletter Presented by April Swenson, Realtor & Associate Broker for Coldwell Banker Ocean Beach Properties http://www.oceanshoresinfo.com/ Welcome to Summer! This town has been buzzing with summer activities with the many different events, as well as property sales. This week is calling for sunny skies. INDEPENDENCE DAY 2009 The weekend was packed and the beaches lined with cars and people letting off fireworks, including myself. Click on the following link to view pictures: www.oceanshoresinfo.com/pics/july4th2009.html SAND & SAWDUST FESTIVAL 2009 This is one my personally favorite yearly events with the sandcastle competitions. Click on the following link to view pictures: www.oceanshoresinfo.com/pics/sand&sawdustfestival2009.html FLAG DAY PARADE 2009 One of the largest Flag Day parades in Western Washington. Click on the following link to view pictures: www.oceanshoresinfo.com/pics/flagdayparade2009.html THE BOARDWALK SHOPS of OCEAN SHORES A

June 26-28, 2009 ~ The annual Five Star Sand & Sawdust Festival was held over the weekend and it was a great success. All three days enjoyed sunshine with temperatures in the 60's. A consistent theme for this year's competition was pirates....."Parrots of the Carribean," "Pirates of the Crab-I-Bean," a "Skull," and others. There were some very detailed and awesome works of sand art. The winner of the Master's Division was "Some Assembly Required," which was a view of a workshop of a toy man being put together. See more on the story and many more pictures at http://www.oceanshoresinfo.com/pics/sand&sawdustfestival2009.html

June 13, 2009 ~ Ocean Shores honors Old Glory by holding its annual Flag Day Parade. It is fun to see all of the people line Pt Brown Ave and W. Chance a La Mer Ave to watch the presentation of our Nation's Symbol by marching bands, politicians, companies, non-profit organizations, and local clubs and citizens. See more on the story and many more pictures at http://www.oceanshoresinfo.com/pics/flagdayparade2009.html

In Honored Memory of Bob McDougal -- October 9, 1944 to May 15, 2009. Bob passed away due to complications of cancer. His family was by his side to the end. He is survived by his loving wife Dona, his daughter Carrie, and his granddaughter Lauren. Bob has been a Realtor since October 2003 in Ocean Shores, WA. I had the opportunity of teaming up with Bob in October 2006, and it has been a great experience. We worked very well together...my strengths and his strengths wielded together to make a well organized and cohesive team. I greatly admired Bob for his business experience and knowledge, his honesty, and commitment to his clients. He will be greatly missed! I am continuing on with our real estate business.

Welcome to Spring! Easter and Spring Break are over and most of the crowds went home. But what a time it was. This town was busy with visitors, property owners, and buyers. Right now, it is beautifully sunny with the coming weekend looking sunny as well. Come join us at the Beach! VISITOR COUNTS UP BY 9% With lower gas prices and prime activities such as the Razor Clam Festival and the Beachcombers Fun Fair (held in March), Ocean Shores saw an increase of 9% for the first quarter in 2009 compared to the 1st quarter in 2008. With over 800,000 visitors in January, February and March, businesses and real estate saw increases as well. MARKET UPDATE I can personally tell you that activity has increased since the beginning of the year and even more so in March. The rest of the year definitely looks promising and busy. The deals are out there! Click on the following links to see MLS flyers for some Hot Buys. Hot Buys for Lots under $30K Hot Buys for Other Lots Hot Buys for Waterfront

Our web site has changed to http://www.oceanshoresinfo.com/ Enjoy lots of great information, like listings, pictures, relocation info, etc.

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