New construction of homes in Sequim and Port Angeles has slowed with the pause in the real estate market, but exactly what does the volume of new construction look like recently, and how does that compare to the historical record? Here is the data. For the same time period, the average sales price is represented by the second graph. Click on Graphs to Enlarge.
New construction from 2000 through November of 2007, which gives us the bigger picture is represented by the following two charts, first sales volume and then average price. Click on Graphs to Enlarge.
Data courtesy of Real Market Data. One caveat regarding the definition of "new construction" in their data: New construction only includes first time sales of land and home together. In other words, new construction is when a builder owns the lot and builds a house and sells the package together. Their data does not include the construction of a new home on land purchased separately. That could include a large percentage of the market in Clallam County as many people first purchase their lot and then hire a building contractor. Probably what is most significant about the data in these charts is the trend. The depiction of this trend is probably a good reflection of the overall new construction market.
Sales volume appears somewhat erratic from month to month, but that is because this is a small market compared to Pierce or King County. You will see one month at just over $1 million and another month over $3 million. The difference may be three or four houses, or it could be just one.
The longer history is probably the most revealing. Seven years ago the average price of new construction was about $150,000 and now it is about twice that at $300,000. The new construction momentum can be seen in this seven year volume history in 2004, 2005, and 2006. While we see a slow down in current months, 2007 was certainly respectable. It remains to be seen how this coming season of new construction going into the spring of 2008 will develop.
Chuck Marunde, J.D.
SequimPortAngeles.com
chuckmarunde@gmail.com
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