Financial Impact on Kitsap's Housing Markets

By now some of the hysteria of yesterday's congressional vote on the $700 billion rescue plan has passed. Thank God for politics...I don't know what we'd do without the posturing, blustering and finger-pointing!

Now, let's see if we can't wade through the mud and figure out how our county's real estate markets will be affected.

First, do I have all the answers...absolutely not and if anyone tells you they do then they're "full of it." What I do know is that we need time, probably several months, to get back some of our sanity.

Second, there are too many external factors to try to quantify and weigh the effect of each and the impact overall.

Third, if you are being forced to sell or buy real estate now, regardless of the reason, it's as good a time as any as long as you understand some of the factors you'll be facing and the risks involved. None of us have the ability to control any of these factors but we might be able to reduce some of the risk factors. Specifically, there's money to be lent, as long as buyers have established and protected their credit ratings and they're serious about proceeding. If you're waiting until the market "hits bottom," good luck. It'll have passed before you realized it. As a seller, you need to "get ahead of the market." Price aggressively, stage professionally and market proactively.