Kitsap County Trends Report...27

Single Family Market (cont.)

Total home sales in 1998 were higher than any other year in the decade of the 1990's, and data for the first six months of 1999 indicate similar levels when annualized on a straight line basis. A telling figure not shown on the chart, however, is the fact that of the 1,584 homes sales that have occurred through the Multiple Listing Service over the first six months of this year, only 213 involved "new homes". This lack of sales is clearly a factor in the reduced level of new construction that has occurred and is documented by building permit levels that remain at modern era lows.

SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL INVENTORY DECLINES

The chart below summarizes the average number of active single-family residential listings by area of the county for the years 1994 through the first six months of 1999. Inventory levels continue to decline which appears to be a result of relatively stable sales activity, coupled with limited new construction. The fact that inventory levels are decreasing while sales activity remains stable, indicates that existing supply is slowly being absorbed and that demand for new construction is likely to occur in the coming year.