The third quarter results for San Juan Island and the County were consistent with the market recovery we have enjoyed over the last few years. Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume on San Juan Island was $102,639,659 with a total of 198 transactions. This reflects a 21% increase in the dollar volume and an 18% increase in the number of transactions. For San Juan County, the total dollar volume was $202,326,283 with a total of 399 transactions. The County’s gain was 18.3% in dollar volume and 10% in the number of transactions. Since 2014, the increase in dollar volume each year has been steady and in the range of 12% to 16.5% at year-end. This year-end should be very similar.

A steady market is very comforting as this type of environment is less likely to have sharp increases or decreases over the next few years. The metropolitan areas that are nearby are experiencing substantial growth; however, it is supported by other economic factors; such as population growth and increasing employment opportunities for their citizens. In the islands, it is healthy to plug along at a steady pace as we don’t have those economic components present.

Several factors have contributed to the steady growth in our County. The high-end buyer is confident and that is reflected in the number of sales and associated volume. Year-to-date on San Juan, we have closed 19 sales in excess of $1M each as compared to the 15 last year for the same period. The increase is 26% for the Island. Year-to-date the County is very consistent with last year with 32 sales in 2017 thus far and 31 sales in 2016 for the same period. The activity level in the County in this segment of our market is about 41% of the last peak in our market which was year-end 2007 when we closed a total of 77 high-end sales.

High-end sales provide upward movement in our median home and land price indexes. Upward or downward movement in the median prices allows us to analyze market trends and this year is a good example of favorable market conditions.

The sellers of the homes that sold in excess of $1,000,000 negotiated on average 5.4% off their list price at the time of sale for San Juan. Sellers in the County negotiated on average 7.5% off their list price at the time of sale.

To read the entire market update, use the link below:

www.sanjuanislands.com/PDF/Merriannsimonsonmarketreport9-30-17.pdf