Source: King 5 News
By: Alex Rozier
Posted: Apr 18, 2016
BREMERTON, Wash. — City leaders in Bremerton are encouraged by their recent success in real estate. City council member and real estate agent Dino Davis said he’s seen an increase in more people from the Seattle area opting to sit on a ferry for their commute rather than sit in traffic. He thinks it has a lot to do with Bremerton’s slower pace and more affordable homes.
“If you start to extrapolate out the time you’re spending in your car the time you’re spending in your car you could be spending on a ferry. You could have a cup of coffee. Get some work done,” Davis said.
“Here in Kitsap County, and especially here in Bremerton, is less than half of the median price in Seattle, King County,” Davis said. “For the price of a median home in King County, you could find a saltwater, waterfront home in Kitsap County.”
Davis said the average price right now in Seattle is around $500,000, In Bremerton it is closer to $200,000. Davis said despite the more affordable homes they still have some concerns. He said that right now they are entering the summer with fewer homes to sell.
“We usually like to carry about 1,600 listings going into summer, and we have under 600 right now for the entire county, and that includes condos,” Davis said. “We need more people to list their house and those people who are listing are fetching a premium and multiple offers.”
Davis said that inventory shortage has caused an increase in the average price in Bremerton and Kitsap County, but it remains much lower than King County. He said they like to have about 4-6 months of inventory, but if they stopped right now, they would have only about a month to a month-and-a-half.