Housing is this Summer’s HOT Topic for this Legislative Session!
Posted by Hawkins-Poe on July 13, 2023
Inventory continues to be an issue and the REALTOR Political Action Committee made a big splash!
When you think politics you don’t always think HOUSING! But this session had 31 bills proposed that all pertained to housing in some fashion. I am not here to give my political views nor am I here to tell you how to take a stance on any of these bills… I am here to share what the REALTOR Association is doing to lend a hand to our legislature in Olympia to get a handle on issues such as:
People experiencing homelessness
Permitting Process & growth
Clean Energy
Transit
All of these issues line up with housing. The Pacific Northwest is a gorgeous place and we all know that because we live here, but we love it for the natural beauty and need to ensure that is protected while we continue to grow. The simple fact of our topography deters from normal growth patterns of other city’s infrastructure. We have WATER EVERYWHERE! We are not a typical coastline with one body of water, we have inlets, Sounds, bays, and canals oh my! This beautiful part of our location doesn’t allow for a typical grid system for building and growth. Not to mention the OTHER WATER we have, it rains here and when it rains here the water runs into the waterways. With these facts in front of us it is difficult to find ways to house people while protecting the beauties of our lushes PNW.
Continuing to stay involved with how our community is going to handle the growth is important. REALTOR advocacy is a large part of that. Our platform is to stay neutral to allow for home ownership to be our primary focus. The list of bills that passed and failed can be found on the warealtors.org website and I encourage you to go and do your own research to see the many changes in store. We are always happy to answer questions and help navigate through the information.
Our market continues to heat up as summer progresses as well as the normalcy behind the formerly hiked interest rates.
Days on the market hit a high at 36 in Gig Harbor and have since gone down to just about 30. We are also only carrying 119 active homes for sale in Gig Harbor with an average sold price of $927,511 (per NWMLS June 2023) with Fox Island topping the average price at $1,051,588 with 2 Luxury Homes listed that officially broke the glass ceiling. A waterfront home on Gig Harbor bay for 6.6 million and a waterfront estate on Horsehead bay for $8.9 million. The luxury market remains healthy due to the elevated amount of equity in homes allowing for more cash transactions eliminating the need for those pesky rates.