Bainbridge Island Real Estate Market Report: June 2024

Is Bainbridge Island a Luxury Housing Market?

YES - BUT NOT FOR THE REASON YOU THINK IT IS

In a throwback to quoting Webster’s Dictionary to start a high school English class essay, yet in a nod to the era we are now firmly in, a quick “AI Overview” of my Google search for “what is luxury housing?” resulted in the following (with some editing for length): 

“Luxury housing can refer to properties that offer a higher level of comfort, quality, and convenience than standard properties and can have many features that set them apart, including:

• Size: larger and/or may sit on larger plots of land 
• Location: prime locations
• Quality: built with the highest-end materials and finishes
• Amenities: high-end amenities, such as pools, courtyards, and upscale kitchens 
• Design: elegant interior design and architectural significance
• Privacy: privacy features like gated drives and security systems”

To state the obvious, the Bainbridge Island real estate market is a luxury market to buyers searching for properties with these characteristics. 

But what about the sale prices? In my perpetual quest to learn from those who are more experienced than me, I once heard an agent who works exclusively in the “luxury market” suggest properties of a caliber to earn that designation are those with the highest 25% of sale prices in the local market, whatever that price point may be. Given that real estate is hyperlocal, that makes perfect sense to me. 

However, I want to offer another definition of a luxury housing market. It has nothing to do with what kind of countertops, the quality of the view, access to the shoreline, or specific architectural style the property offers its prospective purchasers, or how many digits are after the $. It has solely to do with the participants in the market itself. 

This 2024 market has taught me that a luxury buyer and seller is someone who has the luxury of time to enter into a purchase and sale agreement. 

In conversations with many local agents, there is one theme to what it takes for someone to take action towards writing an offer right now, and it comes down to a phrase I use when consulting a new buyer-client in their calibration of the island’s housing market: it’s all about needs, wants, non-negotiables and willing concessions. 

The most finite and valuable asset we all have access to is our time.  The more I learn about the real estate market on Bainbridge Island is that we are a luxury market where buyers and sellers have the luxury of time to make the decision that makes perfect sense for them without any outside forces acting upon them. 

Said differently, a luxury real estate market is one where buyers and sellers do not have to buy or sell, but they must want to buy or sell enough to sign an agreement. 

There is a lot to unpack here; when you’re ready to talk about your decisions, no matter how far down the calendar the execution may be, I’d be delighted and honored to discuss your situation with you. 

Please check out my Bainbridge Market Report below, complete with last month’s sales metrics.

Thanks,

Jason

P.S. Sharing the love of some clients

Jason’s primary goal was to put us in position to find the perfect house, regardless of value or how long it took. He inspired trust the moment we met and is easy to work with. Jason eagerly made sure we had all the relevant facts to be honestly educated about Bainbridge. We appreciate that he prepared us for the best decision while never becoming a part of the decision making process; he left that to us. We never felt rushed and respected how much work he did without ever pressuring us. Call Jason!

-- Juan and Pacin Bianchi