North Whidbey Real Estate Update

by Hal Hovey

There was some good news for our local real estate market in April: Home sales for the month of April on North Whidbey Island were up 18% from a year ago, and median prices were up almost 2% from a year ago! Some of the increase in sales may be due to a last-minute scramble to take advantage of the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit before it expired on April 30th, so it is too early to declare that the real estate market is in full recovery. But this good local news follows on the heels of positive state news as well. Home sales in Washington State were up 32% for the first quarter of 2010 compared to 2009, and Island County as a whole has seen a 39% increase in sales for the year-to-date ending April 30, 2010. We’ll continue to watch for signs of market movement and let you know what we see!