Don't Believe the Hype

Sequim Gazette, Letter to the Editor

Wall Street would have us believe that the U.S. housing market is all going down the same tube. We here in the Northwest, and the North Olympic Peninsula in particular, however need not believe the hype and instead consider our own unique factors when deciding if the right time to purchase a home is now.

Interest rates are still very low and there are ample conventional loan products available.
Buyers today also have far more choices than they have had in recent years and finally some bargaining power as well.  

The outlook for real estate in our area is very positive when you consider the factors relating to long-term supply and demand. Our geography will always limit our supply.

 Expanding our housing boundaries as has been done in places like Phoenix and Las Vegas can never happen. As for demand, we are led by retirees who continue to drive our market.

Baby boomers, the largest and most affluent segment of our population, are just beginning to retire and we continue to get national press touting our area as one of the nation’s best retirement destinations.

Washington state housing has also withstood the nation’s recent downturn. While home-buyers come to our area from all over the country, the largest pool continues to come from other communities here in the Northwest.

According to recent reports by economic publishers Forbes Magazine and Reuters, the outlook for real estate in Washington is much better than that in most of the country. Both of these sources site Washington’s exceptional job growth as well as our low number of sub-prime loans, which have caused so much harm in other markets. Only 6 percent of the loans in Washington are sub-prime compared to 20 percent nationally and less than 1 percent of the loans here end in foreclosure according to Steve Franks, CEO of the Washington Association of Realtors?.

While all of these factors can lead us to feel positive about our real estate investment, what’s most important to remember is that buying a house is much more that just the investment — it’s a place to live and call your home. Housing is not a day-trading activity, and stocks in pork bellies don’t make for very good shelter.

E. Michael McAleer
Sequim