Merri Ann Simonson shares this market summary with you… The third quarter results for San Juan Island and San Juan County were consistent with the first quarter results; very robust.  Our market continues to outperform all historic landmarks. Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume year-to-date on San Juan Island was $184,762,056 with a total of  Continue Reading

Below is our Market Snap Shot for October 2021 completed by Merri Ann Simonson.  This one focuses on the amount of inventory.  Even though our inventory is low, it has yet to impact our closing volume.  Our full quarterly newsletter will be out next week, and it provides full details, volume is huge this year.

It is not uncommon for a rental agreement to play a role in a real estate transaction.   Timing can be everything and often the homes on the market are occupied by a tenant or sellers are unable to time the closing of their current home and the purchase of their next home. In some cases,  Continue Reading

Tamara Weaver, a broker with Windermere Real Estate San Juan Island has opened a new business, San Juan Real Estate Resources (SJRER), to help people navigate the maze of buying or selling real estate on San Juan Island. Here’s what she has to say about it: “I think there are a lot of people out  Continue Reading

A big THANK YOU to the San Juan Island Community Foundation for the support they have shown to local non profits including the San Juan Community Home Trust, at the 2021 County Fair.  We build San Juan Island’s only permanently affordable housing. By offering all local non profit organizations the opportunity to participate in their  Continue Reading

At their September 21, 2021 meeting the San Juan County Council officially released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to purchase 5 acres of land on Lopez Island for the development of affordable housing. San Juan County seeks an experienced developer to purchase the parcel located on Fisherman Bay Road just outside of Lopez Village. The  Continue Reading

Below is a Snap Shot of our current market created by Merri Ann Simonson of Coldwell Banker SJI.  This one focuses on the sales in excess of $1m each.     Zillow forecasts that we shall experience an average of 6.6% value increase for all types of single family homes during the next 12 months.

Homeowner’s Hazard Insurance One thing to seriously consider in these times of escalating values for our homes on the island is the adequacy of your homeowner insurance. Our homes have increased in value over the last few years and the cost to replace has increased dramatically, therefore, your coverage may not be adequate.  In the  Continue Reading

The San Juan Community Home Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Amanda Eichelberger as their new Executive Director, effective August 2, 2021.  Eichelberger joins the Home Trust at a critical time as they launch their new development, HolliWalk, scheduled to break ground in early 2022.   Grant writing, advocacy and experience in the Affordable  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc Median and average prices, transaction volume and the number of pending sales are up. Inventory, days on the market and percentage of negotiations off the list price are down. This is an incredibly strong seller’s market. The second-quarter results, which complete the first  Continue Reading

The Median Islands Income Can’t Cover Costs of Median Home Price By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc The cost of construction, selling and buying real estate in the islands has continued to increase based on the requirements to meet the current regulations, overall material and service cost increases. One  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc. Here is another real estate market snapshot for June 1. Our sellers are benefiting in every category in this market.

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc If you are a buyer or seller, I bet you thought just getting under contract was stressful for all parties. In reality, the home inspection and feasibility response and associated negotiations are often the more stressful event. Allowing a buyer to have a  Continue Reading

San Juan County Dips 55% In Inventory, Grow 39% In Pending Sales   By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc The first-quarter results for San Juan County and San Juan Island maintained the momentum that was present during last year. As compared to the first quarter in 2020,  the data  Continue Reading

From Homes for Islanders The affordable self-help housing non-profit Homes for Islanders is nearing completion of their Foxhall neighborhood homes. This will bring the organization’s owner-built affordable home production total up to 129 completed homes built over 17 years between 2004 and 2021. Although Homes for Islanders has been searching diligently for a future location(s)  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc As real estate agents, we are constantly learning and then sharing our knowledge with our clients. We must even expand our knowledge into some related industries that are not comfortable discussing with a client, such as septic systems and their functions. The real  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc As inventory is very low for existing single-family homes, more and more buyers are considering custom construction. Building custom allows you to design and build the exact floor plan and exterior elevation that suits your needs, your budget and is well cited to  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc Holy cow, what a year! In reviewing the year-end results for 2020, the sales dollar volume for the real estate market in San Juan County per the Northwest Multiple Listing Service was $466,709,745 which reflects a substantial increase in volume of 55% as  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc 1. Select an Agent to Represent You As you may be aware, all of the brokerage firms on San Juan Island are members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service; therefore, any of the agents can assist you with any of the properties listed with  Continue Reading

By San Juan Island Library The San Juan Island Library District has completed the purchase of 660 Spring St. in Friday Harbor for the future library building site. The site is the location of the former Life Care Center. The district considered alternative locations for a library for several years given the limitations of the  Continue Reading

Higher Tax Assessments Don’t Always Lead To Paying More Taxes By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc All of us island property owners received our tax assessment notices from San Juan County recently. As real estate agents, we have been fielding many questions about the statements and new assessments. As  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc While showing property, I am often asked, if the home could be renovated or increased in size as the lot is perfect but the home is too small or too dated for the prospective buyer. As I have said numerous times, it is  Continue Reading