http://iciclecreekrealestate.com/2012/01/12/leavenworth-home-prices-for-2011/

I just had a look at your reports from the last two months. They show all the homes that sold. If you do a comparison that shows year over year, I would love to link to it. A comparison that shows the relative values of comparable homes for the last several years would really be something that is unusual. Average and median values speak more to what buyers are spending than what a given home’s value might have been over the last few years. Thanks for commenting!

One of my biggest complaints with these reports is mixing condos with single family. The markets move independently so it’s foolish to pretend they are the same.

The headlines scream “depreciation” but the long term trends have really been the opposite. By my math, median home prices in Leavenworth are up 60% since 2004. For someone who owns real estate in the area this is great news.

As is my habit, I made some pretty graphs (and even some predictions about the Leavenworth market) for people who are interested.

http://iciclecreekrealestate.com/2010/01/16/leavenworth-real-estate-update-q4-2009/

Can you also provide me with the details of the voting that took place in order to approve a compliance committee. Perhaps I’m mistaken, but by reading the above I am under the impression that all activity in regards to disciplinary action etc. requires a vote from the majority of the community. Furthermore, I’m interested in understanding what percentage of the community voted on “short term rentals” that compiled a 70% agreement to discontinue short term rentals. Was it over 70% of the total community? Or was it 70% of the people in the community that responded? Because that could be 10 % of the total community which may not reflect the majority of the people whom have or have not an opinion? I’m just trying to understand how this topic became such an issue after living here for 14 years?????

Thanks for your attention to this as I am concerned for the well being of our collective community and fear we are being devisive for the good of the few instead of the good of the many.

Viki McCarty

I agree with you on the challenges of market reports in small markets. I try to remember to request folks look at a minimum of the quarterly numbers to try to discern any trends since the monthly numbers are completely statistically insignificant.

Activity is up in Chelan! However, it is not reflected in the pending sales which are down. That is probably due to the deposits on The Lake House project which obtained occupancy, which had deals pending for some time, actually becoming sales. I had a deal close last week that went from mutual to closing in three days, so it did not impact pending sales for long.

While the average price for Leavenworth is down 6% for the first quarter, median prices were up 7%. (By the end of April median prices YTD had dropped to 0% appreciation.)
I think quarterly updates smooth out some of the inevitable bumps – in either a raising or falling market.

Here is my update for the 1st three months of activity in Leavenworth and how that compares to years past.

http://iciclecreekrealestate.com/2009/04/05/leavenworth-real-estate-first-quarter-2009-market-update/

What you don’t see in these numbers is the current activity. May in Leavenworth has been hopping. We have 50% more pending single family homes than 1 year ago, including a home listed for $1.4 million which will throw off the numbers for June.

On the flip side, we now have more homes on the market (in Leavenworth) than ever before. A huge supply is not the seller’s friend, but it sure is great if you are a buyer. Here’s one extreme example near Lake Wenatchee.

http://iciclecreekrealestate.com/2009/05/23/kahler-glen-condos-oversupply-time-to-buy/

What are you seeing as far as activity in Lake Chelan?