Orcas Island Real Estate Steals and Deals!

                                           Deer Harbor, Orcas Island in the Evening

We have some very motivated sellers on some of listings here at OrcasDreams - Island Properties. We have been very successful in selling our listings during this slow down in the market. No great secret - mostly just great prices. With the consenus that the market has hit the bottom and is now recovering, now is the time to act!

                                               Sailing in Westsound on Orcas Island


Why live on Orcas Island? For one it is stunningly beautiful! The air quality is the very best you can find in the US. The waters surrounding Orcas Island are sheltered and perfect for kayaking, fishing, small boats and sailing. About 1/3 of the Island is in Parkland and Conservation land. There is fabulous hiking, pristine lakes for swimming and recreating, and the community is well educated, the pace is slower and well, folks are kind.

                                              Jersey cows at Coffelt's Farm on Orcas

If you want to be more connected to nature, and are tired of racing from one thing to another, if you love to garden, if you enjoy slow food, if you are looking for a new lifestyle or thinking of retiring.  Check out Orcas Island. It's one of a kind!

Green Built Craftsman Cottage - Sunny and on Two Acres Now: $425.500

Home With Hanger for Your Plane - Neat as a Pin with Beautiful Gardens! $539,000

Pastoral 5+ Acres with Beautiful Pond  - Sunset Views and in Victorian Valley $337,000

Small Farm with 1910 Fixer  - Two Bedroom Stucco Home in need of love and attention on Three very fertile Acres! $289,000

Coupeville Cottage - Walk to the Waterfront Downtown from this old fashioned home with beautiful gardens in a quiet area. $199,000

Sunny Lot in lovely Eagle Lake - Share in 283 Acres of Wild Beaches and Wooded Uplands, Ponds and Hiking Trails. $119,000

One Acre Lot in Doe Bay- Water and drainfield, this one is a very easy to build site, OK for Yurt/Camping now: $112,000

Most Affordable Home on Orcas- Owner Financing possible on this modest single wide on very pretty lot in town. $125,000

If you too have been hearing that we have hit the bottom, in fact hit the bottom last summer, and you are thinking of a new lifestyle - check out the San Juan Islands.

To see what is currently available go to: www.orcasdreams.com

Or Email kate@orcasdreams.com
                  

Orcas Island and the San Juan Island Sales History

Here is the latest scoop on sales in the San Juan Islands, which includes Orcas, San Juan Island, Lopez Island and Shaw.  The chart above shows how prices have changed since 2002, peaked in 2007 and fell in 2009. Now at last in Seattle we are seeing the market stabilizing and actually showing small increases. In the past, the Orcas Island Real Estate Market has followed the Seattle Market.

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If you are considering selling property on the San Juan's this chart tells you just how far you need to plan ahead. What it does not say is how much the properties that actually sold had to drop their price.

Innman News - reported the following today:

"SAN FRANCISCO -- The financial crisis is over and the economy is growing at a fast enough clip that the Federal Reserve and other policymakers have already fallen behind the curve in preventing the next asset bubble, economist Ken Rosen said today.
Rosen, the chairman of the University of California, Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate, acknowledged that most economists are still more worried about deflation than inflation."

If you too have been hearing that we have hit the bottom, in fact hit the bottom last summer, and you are thinking of a new lifestyle - check out the San Juan Islands.

To see what is currently available go to: www.orcasdreams.com

Or Email kate@orcasdreams.com

Plan to make your dreams come true!

Ferry Served Island verses non-Ferry Served Islands

I am often asked about the small out islands that seem to have such great deals. What is it like to live there/ vacation there? Often people don't realize that there is NO ferry to Crane and the other small Islands. Some don't realize that there isn't a bridge. We are an archipelago of 172 Islands, but only four are ferry served.

Why choose a ferry served Island? I know you're looking for solitude, for quiet, to be far from the maddening crowd. I understand! But how far do you want to be from buying butter for your baked potatoes? And how do you feel about carrrying everything from your small boat to your island home, perhaps a half mile or more? Have you considered that EVERYTHING you need to do a project, or furnish your home will have to be barged in? Waldron has a school, but only one road, and no commercial establishments. Lots of organic gardening and a small shuttle from Deer Harbor. On Crane you'd need your own boat, no school, no store.  Most people find Island living with the ferries gives them enough privacy.Yes, we have a moat!

If resale is a concern to you at all I would suggest sticking to the 3 major islands; Orcas, San Juan and Lopez.  My husband Ken has worked (built houses) on Decatur and Blakely, both non-ferry served islands. The resale out there takes at least 4 times as long as ANYTHING on Orcas. Development costs are so high on the out islands the cost savings on the land is largely eaten up. Shaw is just as expensive as Orcas and has a VERY slow selling market, though not as bad as the out islands.

  

If you too have been hearing that we have hit the bottom, in fact hit the bottom last summer, and you are thinking of a new lifestyle - check out the San Juan Islands.

To see what is currently available go to: www.orcasdreams.com

Or Email kate@orcasdreams.com