If I were to describe last year’s Bainbridge Island housing market succinctly, it would be that we saw a safe and stable return to the normal type of market activity we knew before 2020 and that home sellers and buyers should prepare themselves with data-driven expectations. Balancing insight with the emotional side of the process is much more reasonable than expecting things to be like they were in 2021. 

 

For those of us in the real estate industry, however, 2024 was nothing close to normal. Rather, we real estate brokers embarked into the uncharted territory of legally obligated buyer broker service agreements as the new normal. In this new world,  consumers are informed about how brokers get paid and, especially for buyers, subsequent empowerment to decide who is the most expert broker for them and their specific needs. 

 

I’ve been nothing short of excited about this evolution in my industry as it demands the raising of the professional bar, and I’ve been planning for it for about five years. I even changed my tagline from “Turning the Art of Real Estate into a Science” to “Expertise Matters: Now, More Than Ever.” 

 

Read more about my excitement for this next industry phase by clicking here. 

 

My prediction is that over the next few years, those agents who do not have the expertise to serve their clients with the expected level of “reasonable skill and care” required by law will go out of business. I welcome that because it opens up more opportunities for the best of the best professionals - Top Producers like myself who collectively represent the top 5% of agents that close nearly 40% of the local transaction volume  - to serve more clients with the level of service buyers and sellers should expect - and deserve - from a professional. 

 

As for metrics, 2024 saw the first YOY decrease in average sale price in over ten years, but the asterisk is that when omitting the twenty sales of homes over $3M (6.5% of the year’s number of sales), then the average sale price was about flat year-over-year. 

 

That’s the good news for sellers: prices are holding as the value of owning property on Bainbridge Island has not eroded no matter how tumultuous the economic, political and/or state ferry conditions may have been. 

 

The good news for buyers is that sales are averaging below sellers’ asking prices  for the first time in a few years. In other words, there is much more room to negotiate on price (and terms such as financing and inspection contingencies) than became the expectation from 2020 through 2022. 

 

As for the predictions for what’s in store for the 2025 housing market, click here to learn what Windermere’s economist, Jeff Tucker, has on his list. 

 

My prediction for 2025? When I look at 2024’s metrics and how they compare to the last 15 years, considering the perspective of pandemic-induced sales with historical-low-but-steeply-rising mortgage interest rates and affordable-but-now-exceptionally-high home prices, I expect 2025’s housing market on Bainbridge Island to look just like 2024 did. 

 

At the end of the day, there will be plenty of folks experiencing a life event that requires a purchase and/or sale of a home: diapers, degrees, work duty, disaster, divorce, downsizing or death. For those of you experiencing a need to buy or sell in 2025…I’m here to discuss how my expertise may be the best to help you. Believe me, expertise matters: now, more than ever.

 

Check out my Bainbridge Island Market Report to hear all the details. 
 
Cheers,
Jason

 

P.S. Sharing the love of some clients

We hired Jason because of his reputation for high integrity, local knowledge, and expertise in the field, all of which were evident in our first interaction. What was truly impressive was Jason’s ability to anticipate potential issues and address them proactively with a detail-oriented approach that ensured every aspect of the transaction was handled meticulously, leaving no room for error.

Jason’s valuable insights and advice guided our decisions and gave us confidence that our transaction would be handled with utmost professionalism, making him an excellent choice for anyone seeking a smooth and successful transaction.

- Lee & Darren Muir