Whidbey Island, part of Washington state, is a fifty-mile long island that features a mix of small towns, woods, beach, and prairie, with a city of 20,000 population providing commercial services and big box shopping, says a local Realtor.

"There is a lack of inventory overall on Whidbey Island," says Realtor Pamela Z. Hill. "For 4/1/03 - 4/30/03, there are 488 active listings (down from 502 last month) with the median list price of $249,000. There are 24 contingent sales (up from 17 last month) with the median price of $298,500. There are 119 pending sales (way up from the 58 last month) with the median price of $188,500 and 79 sold homes (same as last month) with the median sold price of $176,761.

"Average days on market = 97," notes Hill. "It is interesting to note that out of the above properties, 242 are 2-bedroom homes, 512 are 3-bedroom homes, 134 are 4-bedroom homes and only 20 are 5+ bedroom homes. Island wide, 3 bedroom homes are definitely what's hot!. List price to sold price was 97.44 percent."

Oak Harbor

"Oak Harbor is Whidbey Island's largest incorporated community," explains Hill. "Named for the many oak trees which grace its skyline, the city is a growing metropolis today because of two major forces: the completion of the Deception Pass Bridge in 1935 and the building of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

"There are only 204 active properties for sale (down from 234 last month) with the average list price of $248,611," says Hill. "There are 11 contingent sales (up from 8 last month) with the average list price of $299,713. There are 82 pending sales (up from 34 last month) with the average list price of $185,066 and 45 Sold homes (about the same as last month) with the average sold price of $188,466.

"Average days on market = 76," says Hill. "Again, it is interesting to note that out of all the properties above, 61 are 2-bedroom homes, 292 are 3-bedroom homes, 102 are 4-bedroom homes and 14 are 5+bedroom homes. The list price to sold price was 98.02 percent. You can see that you can purchase a lot of house for under $200,000 in Oak Harbor."

Coupeville

"Coupeville, the oldest town on Whidbey Island, is situated on placid Penn Cove, and celebrated its 150th birthday this year! It is a unique part of the National Park Service - Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve."

Explains Hill, "Inventory is really picking up on Central Whidbey which covers the towns of Coupeville and Greenbank. There are 66 active listings (up from 54 last month) with the average list price of $376,429. There are 4 Contingent sales (up 2 from last month) with the average list price of $250,250. There are 6 Pending sales with the average list price of $236,075. and 11 sold properties with the average sold price of $168,909 and average days on market = 87. Once again, 41 are 2-bedroom homes, 51 are 3-bedroom homes, only 6 are 4-bedroom homes and 3 are 5+ bedroom homes. The average list price to sold price was 95.47 percent."

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Published: May 29, 2003

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