The process of buying a home can feel a bit intimidating, even under normal circumstances. But today's market is still anything but normal. There continues to be a very limited number of homes for sale, and that’s creating bidding wars and driving home prices back up as buyers compete over the available homes.
Navigating all of this can be daunting if you’re trying to do it alone. That’s why having a skilled expert to guide you through the homebuying process is essential, especially today. Bankrate shares this perspective: 
"Advice and guidance from a professional real estate agent can be invaluable, particularly amid a hot or unpredictable housing market."
Here are just a few of the ways a real estate expert makes a big difference: 
Experience – Real estate professionals know the ins and outs of what’s happening today, how it impacts buyers, and how to navigate any hurdles that may pop up.
Education – Knowledge is power when it co. ...

The Best Time to List Your Home is Almost Here! 

If you’re thinking about selling this spring, it’s time to get moving – the best week to list your house is fast approaching.
Experts at realtor.com looked at seasonal trends from recent years (excluding 2020 as an uncharacteristic year due to the onset of the pandemic) and determined the ideal week to list a house this year:
“Home sellers on the fence waiting for that perfect moment to sell should start preparations, because the best time to list a home in 2023 is approaching quickly. The week of April 16-22 is expected to have the ideal balance of housing market conditions that favor home sellers, more so than any other week in the year.”
If you’ve been waiting for the best time to sell, this is your chance. But remember, before you put your house on the market, you’ve got to get it ready. And if you haven’t started that process yet, you’ll n ...

With Spring all but here and the weather beginning to play nice, we figured we should share some of the best places to head outdoors in our home, Kitsap County. 

Kitsap County, located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, is home to a wealth of local parks and natural areas, making it a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. From forests to beaches, there's no shortage of stunning scenery to explore here. In this blog post, we'll look at some of the best local parks and things to do in the area.
Manchester State Park
Located on the Kitsap Peninsula, Manchester State Park is a 128-acre park that features stunning views of the Puget Sound and surrounding islands. Visitors can hike along the park's many trails, fish for salmon or trout, camp, or simply relax on the beach. The park is also known for the large brick structure that was once a torpedo warehouse and an adjacent concrete casemate that once housed firing triggers and cables to the underwater torpedoes.


Illahee State Park
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Buyers May Face Less Competition as Bidding Wars Ease

One of the top stories in recent real estate headlines in the past couple years has been the intensity and frequency of bidding wars. With so many buyers looking to purchase a home and so few of them available for sale, fiercely competitive bidding wars became the norm during the pandemic – and it drove home prices up. If you tried to buy a house over the past two years, you probably experienced this firsthand and may have been outbid on several homes along the way. 
Fear not! Things are beginning to shift as seen in the graph below. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average number of offers on recently sold homes has declined considerably over the past few months:


The graph shows homes were seeing a high of around five offers earlier this year. But the latest data shows that average was down to just shy of three offers per recently sold home. This shift is happening largely because rising ...

Common Questions We Keep Hearing
There is a lot of confusion and understandably so, which is why this month’s Housing Update is a bit on the lengthier side.
 
·        Are we heading for another housing bubble?
·        Should I list my house now or keep it listed? Or wait until things settle down?
·        Is now a good time to buy or should I wait and see if prices will go down?   
 
If you have time to watch it, we encourage you to do so as it contains some valuable information and insight into how the housing market works, what affects its volatility, and what we can expect to happen into the near future. If you don’t have time, below are the top takeaways.
 
What’s The Market Doing Now?
Dennis compiles information he’s gathered from half a dozen industry gurus at the national level, alo ...