Topic: Real Estate

San Juan Islands Home Prices, Closing Costs Rise

Written on July 2, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

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

San Juan County Housing Market Favors Sellers

Written on June 11, 2021 at 5:00 am, by

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.

Home Inspections and their Role in the Real Estate Transaction

Written on May 24, 2021 at 5:00 am, by

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 Faces Low Housing Inventory As Pandemic’s Demand For Rural Relocation Grows

Written on April 12, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

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

Homes For Islanders To Suspend Operations After Foxhall

Written on March 27, 2021 at 1:28 pm, by

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

Merri Ann Simonson Gives The 411 on Septic Systems

Written on March 25, 2021 at 5:00 am, by

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

Building Custom Construction on San Juan Island

Written on February 28, 2021 at 5:00 am, by

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

San Juans Real Estate Sales Increase 50% From 2019

Written on January 18, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

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

Six Steps To Purchasing A San Juans Home

Written on January 10, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

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

Library Plans Move to Former Life Care Site

Written on December 24, 2020 at 5:30 am, by

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

County Tax Assessments: Purpose, Market Value Comparisons, Effect On Taxes

Written on November 23, 2020 at 5:00 am, by

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

What To Consider Before Remodeling

Written on November 5, 2020 at 5:00 am, by

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

Hometrust: It’s Annual Meeting Time!

Written on November 2, 2020 at 5:45 am, by

Please join us for a celebration of the completion of the Sun Rise II neighborhood, to review the past year, to elect new board members, AND to preview the next development of permanently affordable homes, HolliWalk. Date: Thursday, November 19th  Time: 5:30pm to 6:30pm Place: Virtual meeting via Zoom Alas, no pizza this year, nor  Continue Reading

San Juan Real Estate Market Reaches All-Time High

Written on October 23, 2020 at 5:30 am, by

By Merri Ann Simonson, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands The third-quarter results for San Juan Island and San Juan County were consistent with the first quarter results; very robust. The second quarter was in COVID shock but that gave way to a strong third quarter. Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume year-to-date on San Juan  Continue Reading

Merri Ann’s San Juan Island Lifestyle Videos

Written on September 14, 2020 at 9:30 am, by

Merri Ann Simonson shares another episode in her video series and says, Local San Juan fishing derbies, they are the best!

Corner Stakes and Purchasing Property

Written on August 3, 2020 at 2:24 pm, by

We hear from Merri Ann Simonson…   Corner stakes are one of the most important components of purchasing real estate, I have learned this over 25 years of selling real estate on San Juan. For the properties that transacted years ago, corner stakes were not a big issue; of course, nor was a water source,  Continue Reading