One Level Turn-Key Condo in the Heart of Steilacoom!
704 Stevens St, Steilacoom
The Essentials:
1,549 Sq. Ft.
8,350 Sq. Ft. Lot
3 Bedrooms / 2 Bathrooms
2 Car Attached Garage
12′ x 34′ Detached Garage ~ Perfect for RV / Boat Storage!
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Pass into the foyer of this turn-key low maintenance 3 bedroom condo in the heart of Steilacoom and you are greeted by gleaming hardwood floors. The laundry room is conveniently to the right (perfect for wet weather!) and leads to the attached 2 car garage.
Continue into the living room that is bathed in soft natural light and overlooks the private, maintenance free backyard. The HOA dues cover the cost of outside maintenance, lawn care, insurance, and water, sewer, garbage. The open yet cozy layout provides a warm atmosphere for entertaining guests. Or, curl up in front of the gas fireplace with a book, it ignites with the flip of a switch.
Overlooking the living room is the well appointed kitchen with gleaming hardwood floors, crisp white cabinets, and stainless steel appliances that stay with the home, including the French door refrigerator!
Gaze out the large window in the dining room at the manicured backyard. Dining alfresco is easy with the door leading to the patio.
Continue to the spacious master suite. There is ample closet space so no need to worry about sharing. Access to the backyard through the glass slider. Breathe in the salt air from the Puget Sound and relax in your private retreat.
Dual closets lead to the attached 5 piece master bathroom with a double vanity and jetted tub.
There are two additional bedrooms and a full bathroom, ideal for guests.
Enjoy the fully landscaped yard with no worry of maintaining it yourself, set up your hammock or a comfortable chair and relish in the ease of living here!
Be sure to check out the 12′ x 34′ detached garage that is included in the sale. The ideal spot to store your RV, boat, collector car, or …?
Living in Steilacoom is an easy choice to make! Whether you are retired or working this active community has a lot to offer. There are 12 public parks maintained by the city for you to enjoy. Cherrydale Park offers basketball and tennis courts as well as picnic tables. Meander through Farrells Marsh, a heavily wooded area which includes 3,500 ft. of fresh water shoreline, and you’ll feel as though you’re transported back in time. You can find wagon ruts from more than 150 years ago. There are two beachfront parks, Sunnyside Beach and Saltars Point Park, with saltwater access you won’t want to miss. They offer stunning views of the Puget Sound and hours of fun. There is easy access to Joint Base Lewis McCord without having to use the highway, it’s a quick 10 minute drive! The current owners will especially miss their quiet and friendly neighbors as well as the quaint businesses, restaurants, and cafes Steilacoom offers. Grab a steaming cup of coffee from Espresso by the Bay, or enjoy some live entertainment at Steilacoom Pub & Grill where you can also watch the ferries come and go from Anderson and Ketron Islands. Don’t miss Bair Bistro, a living museum that also serves up comfort food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is houses is located within the historic Bair Drug and Hardware building, which was built in 1895.
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Pierce County Housing Report Supply vs. Demand
Last week I talked about the shortage of houses for sale in Pierce County being notably below the demand and how this condition makes the home buying and selling experience a little testy for many. Buyers have to make decisions quicker than they might otherwise like to, sellers face tricky waters getting their price right, and the negotiation process can have some tension that both may prefer to be without.
In the process of preparing that report I began to wonder; “Is demand really high or supply just super low?” I referenced some historical Pierce County housing data for perspective. The chart below represents 14 years of Pierce County housing activity. The bright green bars represent supply of homes; the dark green bars represent closings while the red line tracks Pending sales.
As soon as I prepared this graph the Pending line caught my attention, I call it the “Demand” line, and it is shown in red on this graph. When stepping back 14 years we can see there is certainly some fluctuation in the “Demand” line, but it looks relatively flat compared to the “Supply” line! Getting a little geeky I set out to measure the two, here’s what I learned after sifting through 14 years of data.
Next I wondered how often the demand or supply fluctuated higher or lower than 25% of the median. I wanted to know what, if anything is out of whack with our market “today”.
As you can see, in the last 14 years 63% of the time demand is within 25% of the median, and surprisingly has only been more than 25% above the median 22 out of 168 months (13%). Currently, demand for Pierce County housing as measured by 1st Quarter 2016 is in the high side of the “Normal” range. At 1,380 Pending sales it is 22% above our 14 year median. Not the same story for supply.
Our 1st Quarter supply average is 1,941 which is 61% below the median. Insert shocked face – here! – Pierce County is low on inventory! What is extraordinary about right now is the inventory has actually been in this “more than 25% below median” status for 29 of the last 36 months. Additionally, while I earlier stated that the 1st Quarter average demand is within the “norm”, if we only look at March demand it is 54% above the median making it one of the highest demand months in 14 years.
So what are we saying here?
Even though the market feels like there’s an extraordinary amount of pressure it’s been like this 80% of the last 3 years. March has us feeling market tensions in an exaggerated way due to a spike in demand along with the chronic low supply of homes we have been living with. It is also important to remember that the conditions described here are going to vary (sometimes a lot!) depending on where and what price range in Pierce County you are looking. This is one more reason why it is so important to have a Realtor at your side that can show you the #’s for your area. There are opportunities to sell into a High Demand/Low Supply sector and buy into a Normal Demand/Normal Supply sector. More on that next time!
First Quarter 2016 Pierce County Housing Report
You don't need me to tell you the market is great! The market is really back! Media is buzzing with positive housing news complete with rising prices, inventory shortages & bidding wars coupled with low interest rates and a strong economy! What's not to like? It is great, but like so many things there's two sides to the coin and the answer is, "it depends!" First, a look at the numbers for Pierce County as measured on March 31st.
Inventory – DOWN – 35%
Closings – UP – 16%
Median Price – UP – 9%
New Pending Contracts – UP – 28%
These year over year numbers are astounding. We have over 1/3 fewer homes offered for sale while at the same time we have an increase in the number of closings by nearly 1/3 creating a classic demand exceeding supply scenario. Pierce County houses are selling in an average of 59 days, the shortest length of time measured since July 2006.
In the past I've referred to sales ratios as being one of the most accurate way of describing the strength of the market. (To read a past description of Sales Ratios click here.) We know a balanced market has a sales ratio of 55%, currently the numbers give Pierce County a 95% sales ratio. We have nearly as many houses Pending as we do Active. Yikes! Another key measurement of a housing market is Months of Inventory. The target here for a normal "breathe through your nose" market is 3-5 months….Survey Says!! 1.4 !!
Most would say, "This is a great time to be a seller and a challenging time to be a buyer". There is some truth to that, but in reality, it can be a challenging time to be on either side of the table. Sellers naturally want to price their home accordingly to take advantage of the favorable market conditions and not leave any money on the table but proper pricing strategies right now can be elusive. Meantime, no buyer wants to "get in a bidding war" and the result is a tension from both sides that can get interesting. Consider this scenario that recently played out;
Our new listing just hit market – Within days we have two offers! No, wait three! Buyers are notified, "we have multiple offers!" First one raises offer – second stays put – third one goes dark! Aghh! Then, just before time to review and sign off, first one lowers to original amount…..oooookkkkayy! So second one goes away to chase another house. Wait!, first one has gone dark now too! What the..?! day goes by….first one is out! Good grief! Word is #2 didn't get the other house they were chasing….so go get #2, right?! Ohhhhh we can't! #2 has now decided house is too close to a relative she doesn't want to be so close to!
Day 15 – still on the market.
With the added tension of this fast paced market sometimes decisions have to be made quicker than we would like and the resulting flip flopping can be hard on everyone!
Despite the obvious inventory shortages and low market times it is not hard to find homes that have been on the market for 100 days or more. That shows us the market is not all forgiving and throwing any high price on a property will fail. For sellers it is a delicate balance between pushing the envelope and being realistic. For buyers, the last house is not the last house. Find good counsel in a trusted Realtor, have a pre-approved loan in your pocket, and the right house will come to you at the right time.
Markets seek balance and the current shortage of good homes will not last forever, it never does. Yes, prices are going up, and that erodes buying power. In the process new neighborhoods evolve as qualified buyers gentrify more affordable areas. The dream of having the right home to call your own is still obtainable.