Leavenworth Real Estate

Chiwawa River Pines – Effects of Rental Ban?

The Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood in Plain had a lengthy debate in 2008 about permitting vacation rentals in their neighborhood.

At the time, I took the position that I thought that enforcing the existing (but unenforced) prohibition on short term (nightly / weekly) rentals would be bad for home values.  My experience tells me that vacation home buyers (who drive the Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee real estate market) prefer to have the option to rent their home when they aren’t using it. Not every vacation home owner does rent their cabin, but most prefer to have that as an option.

A few owners in Chiwawa River Pines wrote in..

“Many of us that did not purchase a home 5 or more years ago are paying a pretty penny to find a vacation home in Leavenworth. While we would all likely to be indepently weatlhy, many of us look to suppliment the cost of a mortgage with nightly rental proceeds.

I also believe that the values will decline since you are removing a subset of the buyers from this community.”

Al Lorenz, an owner in Chiwawa River Pines, a real estate agent in Chelan, and the author of the NCW Real Estate Blog, took an opposing view.

“It has really only been in the last few years that there has been this noticeable rental activity. Certainly 4 years ago I never noticed it. Now, in certain parts of the development it is a problem. I’ll use my speeding analogy again, just because I didn’t get caught last week doesn’t mean I won’t get caught tomorrow.

That’s also why I don’t think the values will be negatively impacted. The folks that bought in Chiwawa River Pines have always known rentals weren’t allowed.“

In September of 2008 the members of the Chiwawa Communities Association voted to amend their covenants to prohibit any rentals for periods less than 6 months.

What has happened since then?

Of the 53 homes that have sold in Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee, only 3 were in Chiwawa River Pines. One of these homes was a bank owned property that had been foreclosed upon.

Currently there are 184 homes for sale in Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee. 20 of these homes are in Chiwawa River Pines (and one of these was recently foreclosed upon and is now bank owned.)

What do these numbers tell me?

A home in Chiwawa River Pines is less likely to sell than a home in another neighborhood. 6% of the sales occurred here, but they have 11% of the homes currently  for sale.

At the current rate of sales, there is a 5 1/2 YEAR supply of homes on the market in the neighborhood.

I think any Leavenworth or Lake Wenatchee neighborhood that is considering banning vacation rentals should consider its effect on home values and what is happening in Chiwawa River Pines.

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

Leavenworth Real Estate | Sold Homes July 2009

In July, 7 homes sold in the Leavenworth area.  No condos sold this month.

 

812 Cedar Street, Leavenworth

List price: $229,000.  Sold price: $203,000.

Days on Market: 206

2 bedrooms | 1 bath | 720 sqft| .04 acres.

Small home with a garage on a small lot.  This home last sold Aug 2008 for $190,000.

 

 

21720 Palamino Road, Leavenworth

List price: $230,000.  Sold price: $209,000.

Days on Market: 228

1 bedrooms | 1 bath | 870 sqft| .30 acres.

Cozy cabin at the corner of Stirrup and Palomino in Ponderosa neighborhood.

 

 

15801 Cedar Brae Road, Leavenworth

List price: $295,000.  Sold price: $288,000.

Days on Market: 77

2 bedrooms | 1 bath | 900 sqft| .57 acres.

Cute cabin across the street from Lake Wenatchee on the south shore.  On market for 18 days before it went under contract.

 

 

21305 Stetson Road, Leavenworth

List price: $368,000.  Sold price: $320,000.

Days on Market: 326

3 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1650 sqft| .39 acres.

Cabin on a quite street in the Ponderosa neighborhood.  Open floor plan with good living space.

 

 

324 Tumwater Drive, Leavenworth

List price: $3,490,000.  Sold price: $325,000.

Days on Market: 64

3 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1260 sqft| .14 acres.

In town rambler in a newer section of town.  I believe the inital list price was bit of a typo, one too many zeros, but it made me do a double take.

 

 

17594 North Shore Drive, Leavenworth

List price: $599,000.  Sold price: $465,000.

Days on Market: 196

3 bedrooms | 3 bath | 3100 sqft| .24 acres.

Newer construction across the street from Lake Wenatchee on the north shore.  Has been on/off the market since 2008.  Builder was using it for a bit.  One reason for long time on market was due to the unknown fate of a platted lot between this home and N. Shore Dr.

 

 

12022 Spromberg Canyon Road, Leavenworth

List price: $749,000.  Sold price: $627,150.

Days on Market: 962

4 bedrooms | 3 bath | 3896 sqft| 6.20 acres.

This property was on the market from ‘04 to ‘06 and then again from ‘08 to when it sold this month.  Used as a B&B it also has a second home on the property.  Additionally, it is set up for horses.

 

More Leavenworth Real Estate Info

• Click Here to See Leavenworth Sold Homes for June 2009
• Click Here to See Cashmere Sold Homes for July 2009
• Click Here to Search for Leavenworth Homes for Sale

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

Cashmere Real Estate | Sold Homes July 2009

In July 2009, only 1 home closed in Cashmere.

 

250 Kennedy Road, Cashmere

List price: $579,000 .  Sold price: $514,000.

Days on Market: 60

5 bedrooms | 5 bath | 7005 sqft| 2.41 acres.

Large Cashmere home situated on a hill top with an excellent view of the Wenatchee valley and the Cascade mountains.

 

More Leavenworth and Cashmere Real Estate Info

• Click Here to See Cashmere Sold Homes for June 2009
• Click Here to See Leavenworth Sold Homes for July 2009
• Click Here to Search for Cashmere Homes for Sale

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

Kahler Glen Hosts Fire Dept Benefit August 1

The Kahler Glen Athletic Club located at the Kahler Glen Golf Course is hosting a benefit on August 1 from 5-8 pm with proceeds going to support the firefighters of Chelan County Fire District #9.

There will be a live mariachi band, BBQ and both a live and silent auction.

The live auction features a membership to the Kahler Glen Athletic Club (Current Value $2500) and the silent auction has a number of great items including:

• Two hours of backhoe work, contributed by Mike McComas of Leavenworth Electric and Excavation a $170.00 value
• Hosted Party for 8 at the home of Kaye and Gary Marks
• Four rounds of golf at Kahler Glen and a $50.00 gift certificate from the Pro Shop, a $300.00 value donated by KGG&S Resort
• 2 night’s use of Kahler Glen condo on a non-holiday weekend, donated by Nancy and Tom Graham
• Eric’s Spa Repair, donates 1 hour labor (parts not included)— via Thom Cook 509 630 3524. He services tubs in Kahler Glen and the rest of Plain and Lake Wenatchee.

For more info visit their website or contact Bill Miller at 509-763-0560 if you want to volunteer or contribute to the auction.

Leavenworth Real Estate – 2nd Quarter Market Report

The Leavenworth real estate market seems to be singing the same tune that we have heard for a while now.

The number of sales is down dramatically, but prices remain stable, perhaps even trending up if you’re an optimist.

Here’s what is not showing up on that chart. (Which may or may not be predictive.)

• May Pending Sales are up 50% from 2008 to 2009. ( 6 homes increased to 9 homes)
• June Pending Sales and Completed Sales stayed even in 2008 and 2009
• Only 3 condos sold in Spring of 2009 (Compared to 5 in Spring 2008)
• Land sales are down 66%this Spring (15 parcels sold in 2008, 5 in 2009)
• There were a record # of homes for sale in June 2009.  Never before have there been 179 homes for sale all at once. Most years the record happens in the fall. (157 in 2008, 137 in 2007.)
• A waterfront home sold in Leavenworth for $1.3 million, tying the record price set a few years back

I think that Summer 2009 looks like it should be on par with 2008 as far as prices and the number of homes sold. It won’t be 2005 or 2006, but I’m not convinced we had a price bubble like so many other markets.

As many folks know, I try to find out the best way to look at the how the market is moving and how best to describe the trends I see.

I continue to take issue with those who feel that a monthly report has much statistical value and I am surprised by the low offers that some real estate agents are convincing their clients to submit because of some erroneous information floating around about price trends.

Certainly the condo market is not healthy and we have a glut of newer condos for sale. But condo prices have yet to drop to a price that makes home buyers switch to a condo for a better value. Until that happens, the Leavenworth condo market and the Leavenworth home market will remain separate beasts.

One project I am currently working on is to create price trend reports based on quartiles. (Thanks to the folks at Altos.com for the idea, sorry your product isn’t available for my market.) Has the upper end of the market slowed down? Are the cheapest houses selling or only the houses in the median price ranges? Dividing the price ranges into quartiles should help.

What metrics would help you understand Leavenworth real estate a little better?

What info would you like to see that would help you make better decisions?

I can’t wait to hear from you.

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.