Looking for something to do for mom this weekend?  If you're in the Gig Harbor area, why not take her on a tour of some open houses?  Chances are you can't buy mom that $1M home for mother's day, but don't you think she'd enjoy touring one?  There are 2 homes priced at over $1M open in Gig Harbor this weekend, and Salmon Bay Estates, priced just under $1M, will also be open.  Click on the map below for the 10 properties that will be hosting open houses this weekend.  Information is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.  If your mom falls in love with any of these homes, give me a call.  I'd be happy to talk with you about the process of purchasing these or any other homes in the Gig Harbor, Fox Island, and Port Orchard areas. 05/09/2008

 Gig Harbor Washington Market Update April 2008  During the month of April 2008 26 houses sold in the Gig Harbor area. Compared with 71 homes sold in 2007 during the same time period. Average Sales price in 2008 was $479,378 vs. $513,274 in 2007 Days on market 168 in 2008 vs. 147 in 2007  Average prices have dropped by almost 7% compared to sales a year ago. If you are a buyer now is an amazing time to be looking for a home! With a large inventory to choose from and interest rates hovering around 6% for a 30 year fixed rate loan the Gig Harbor area is a prime area to be looked at.     Contact Scott Cowan, Rainier Real Estate. Licensed real estate salesperson in Washington at 253-219-1194 to list your property for sale or purchase a home in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and the rest of ... 05/01/2008

Gig Harbor Art Walk Saturday May 3rd 2008   The Gig Harbor Art Walk is held the first Saturday of each month from 1pm to 5pm Featuring local artists working with various materials such as pastels, ceramics, jewelry, woodworking, and much more. Many of the local galleries are open for visitors to enjoy watching artist demonstrations. Visitors can obtain an Art Walk passport. Once the passport has been completed it can be submitted for a drawing for prizes. Sunset magazine has designated the Gig Harbor Art Walk as one of the five top small town art walks in the northwest. The Gig Harbor Art Walk is a great time and wonderful opportunity to see scenic Gig Harbor. I hope to see you there On Saturday May 3rd. Contact Scott Cowan Rainier Real Estate at (253)-219-1194 to purchase or sell home... 04/27/2008

Here is the list of open houses in Gig Harbor for this weekend.  Only 10 homes this week!  Click on the interactive map to find out full information.  Position your cursor over a push pin to see number of bedrooms, bathrooms, price, date and time, and who the listing agent of the property is.  Remember, the push pins are approximate...if you click on "bird's eye view" you'll see a great shot of the neighborhood, but the pin won't necessarily be on the exact home that is open.If you find a home you're interested in, I am happy to provide you with more information about the home and walk you through the process of purchasing a home.  Just call or email! 04/18/2008

March was an interesting month in Gig Harbor, WA.Currently there are approximately 884 homes for sale in all of Gig Harbor / Fox Island. There is about a 15 month supply of homes (if no other homes come to market). The average list price is $660,000. There were 59 homes sold compared to 105 sold in March 2007. For the sold properties, the average days on market was 218 compared to 167 in March 2007.The median sales price was $354,000 compared to $360,000 in March 2007.Lowest sales price was $157,000; highest sales price was $1,500,000.  March 2007 the lowest sales price was $75,000 and the highest was $2,460,000. 04/17/2008

Gig Harbor has some beautiful scenery, and some exciting wildlife as well.  One thing I love about selling homes in Gig Harbor is hearing back from my clients about all the great things they love about their new home.  I've featured photos from John Pleau before, but these may be the most remarkable.  John's a good friend, great photographer, all around good guy, and was a pretty good client, too. Check out these photos he took from the deck of his Ray Nash waterfront home today.  He assured me the baby ducklings all came out safely, and some large geese jumped in the fray to chase off the eagle.  Amazing what you can view in Gig Harbor...who needs a TV?Bald eagle swooping in for a snack.          DUCK duckling!            Momma duck trying to protect her ducklings.       04/17/2008

 The real estate professionals said on HDTV show tonight that the #1 thing to do to sell a home is to STAGE it!  The statistics support this as well...my hope is that realtors will understand what staging really is...it is so much more than anything  taught in a  weekend seminar or on a CD...It can help so many people with the sale of their homes;it should be top on your list when advising your clients...staging helps them, but it also helps you...both benefit! 04/13/2008

Wow!  The weather is cooperating again which means that this weekend would be a great weekend for touring some of the homes for sale in Gig Harbor, Wa.  With sunny skies and temps nearing 70, moving to Gig Harbor never looked better!Here is the list of open houses in the Gig Harbor area this weekend.  Simply click on the interactive map and hover your mouse above any of the push-pins to get info on the home, date and time of the open, and the listing agent of the home.  Be sure to scroll out and pan around to make sure you get all of the homes!Remember, I am not the listing agent on all of these homes, but as a licensed Realtor I can answer all of your questions about these and any other properties listed for sale in the Gig Harbor area.  If you see anything you like, or need more infor... 04/11/2008

Gig Harbor, Wa, is one of God's most beautiful places.  In this beautiful land, there is a beautiful man-made structure.  Here is a little photo tour of Gig Harbor's Tacoma Narrows Bridges.The 2nd Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in July 2007.                Narrows Park is a great place to view the sunrises in Gig Harbor.                Not my idea of a fun job!            Round one of the bridge decks arrived from Japan.            This incredible shot with Mt Rainier in the background is courtesy of Joseph Becker.  View more of his photos at http://www.seldomseenphoto.com                 The new bridge, minus the decks, created an eerie sensation as you drove by or boated underneath.          The many views of the bridges and the many changing skies make this a limitless photo opportunit... 04/06/2008

The Puget Sound region has fantastic farmers markets. I cannot think of a better way to buy my fruits and vegetables than directly from the person who actually had a hand in producing them. Since spring is now here the areas farmers markets are starting up again. I am going to put together a series of posts about the various markets and the communities that host them. Without further introduction allow me to share with you the Gig Harbor Farmers Market. The Gig Harbor Farmers Market started today and will run every Saturday through September 27th.  Located at the Kimball Drive Park and Ride running from 8:30 to 2:00 Driving directions from Tacoma Take the Narrows Bridge on Highway 16. Take the Wollochet Drive exit. Right at the first light. Take the next right on Kimball Drive. You wil... 04/05/2008

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted.  Most of the Saturday opens have already happened, but there is a great twilight open house on a stunning Canterwood home that runs from 3-8pm today.  6bd, 6ba, theater...it is truly one of Canterwood's-and Gig Harbor's for that matter-most stunning homes.Click on the map and check out the open houses in Gig Harbor this weekend.  Click on any one of the numbered markers for home information.  This info is from the NWMLS and deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  If you'd like further information on these or any other homes you see for sale, including For Sale By Owner listings, give me a call and I'd be happy to get you the information and help you in presenting an offer. 04/05/2008

If you are looking to buy a home or looking for condos for sale in Gig Harbor, here is a list of the open houses in the area this weekend.  Maybe you're looking for a fun spring...uh, winter, no spring...thing to do and want to see what is available in the Gig Harbor, Wa, housing market.New this week!  I've made a map of the open houses to hopefully help you along the way.  The numbered markers are in no order...the mapping program changed them at random.  As always, this info is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.  I am not the listing agent of these homes, but as a Realtor I am more than happy to answer questions and assist you in the purchase of any of these, or any other home listed for sale.Simply click on the map for a look at the general locations of the open houses. 03/28/2008

Gig Harbor High School senior Kate Stuart has organized a 5k run/walk to provide medical and humanitarian support to those displaced by war in Burma.   The event will begin at the Chapel Hill Church parking lot in Gig Harbor, WA.  Race begins at 9am on Saturday, March 29th, with day of race registration running from 8-8:45am. Kate (who will be running track and cross country at my Alma mater Westmont College next year!) is putting on this event as part of her senior project at Gig Harbor High.  In addition to the 5k running race or walk for the adults, there will be a kids' dash for kids age 5 and under. This is a great chance to participate in the Gig Harbor community, support a local high school student, and reach out and provide some charitable relief to those in need. Whether you're... 03/27/2008

Hey Seb, why the long face?  That's not dandruff on my loyal dog, that's snow.  Those of you in colder parts of the country may not have any sympathy (and may not consider this real snow), but for those of us in Gig Harbor, Wa, this stinks.It's the end of March, it's not supposed to snow in Western Washington in March (unless you're in the mountains).  Gig Harbor has had amazing weather this spring, warm and sunny and beautiful.  So where did this come from?  03/27/2008

Have you ever heard Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" routine?  It's a very funny take on people doing and saying things that Bill Engvall feels warrants that they should wear a warning sign around their necks so the rest of us can be alerted to their lack of intelligence.  Well,  Pierce County gets a sign from me.You may have noticed that there are far fewer "For Sale" signs around the Gig Harbor area now than there were a few days ago.  It's not that our housing market has picked up significantly and hundreds of homes magically sold this past weekend, but rather Pierce County has confiscated hundreds of real estate signs, small business signs, and other signs posted around the area.Now let me be really clear on this point: I am actually GLAD, and I applaud Pierce County for taking the... 03/13/2008

Our real estate market here in Gig Harbor has been pretty healthy throughout this past year's national "crisis."  We're just now starting to feel the effects of the housing market slow down, and are for the first time in my real estate career pretty clearly in a "buyer's market."  While that may sound good for my buyers, what about my sellers?  Is "buyer's market" the best term?I like to look at this (and this isn't my phrase) as "A market of opportunity."  Why?  Well, because that's what it is.  This market presents some great opportunities for both buyers and sellers.  How?  Let me explain.Right now our inventory is huge.  In Gig Harbor, there are 601 single family homes currently for sale.  That's significantly higher than I've ever seen it (we were at 500 homes on January 1st!).  Fo... 03/11/2008

Here's the look at this weekend's open houses in Gig Harbor.  Much smaller this week than in weeks past.  Remember, this info is taken from the NWMLS, so it is reliable but not guaranteed.  If you ever find a home that you're interested in, please give me a call.  I'd be happy to share with you what I offer to home buyers and help you in the process of deciding if now's the right time for you to buy. 03/07/2008

I'm definitely not a green thumb.  About the only thing I can consistently keep green is the moss in my yard.  One of the advantages of living in Gig Harbor is our climate pretty much grows things on its own.  I have rhododendrons, roses, lavender, and other plants that I either don't know their names or can't spell and pronounce them that seem to grow year after year, regardless of my ignorance.  And blackberries?  I've got gorgeous, plump, sweet blackberries all around me and I don't have to do a thing!Many of you are more serious about gardening, however, and may be looking for a place to get some answers.  For the first time in my 11 years here, I visited Peninsula Gardens this weekend.  I didn't go there to find plants or answers to my mole problems, I went there to see Ciscoe.  If... 03/03/2008

Every Monday I like to take a close look at the real estate trends in Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, and the Key Peninsula.  I track the home sale and home listing numbers weekly and truly enjoy looking for trends and indicators in our local real estate market.Looking at the following graphs it's not too hard to see what the Gig Harbor real estate market is doing.  You can see week by week more and more homes being listed.  At the same time, the number of homes that are pending sales is also increasing, but at a much slower rate, thus our home inventory continues to climb. The numbers tell the story here.  More and more homes continue to be listed for sale in Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, and the surrounding areas, and the sales, while still rising, are not keeping up.  What is confusing to me i... 03/03/2008

Here's the weekly look at Gig Harbor's open houses for this weekend.  Not too long ago open houses were beginning to fade away, as they were simply a tool for real estate agents to get more customers.  Now, as the Gig Harbor real estate market shifts, open houses are becoming a more useful tool in getting your home sold.  Especially as our weather here in Gig Harbor gets nicer, more and more people will be out touring. As always, this list is taken from the NWMLS.  Info is reliable but not guaranteed.  If you know of a house that will be held open but do not see it on this list, the listing agent failed to put it into the computer.  If any of these homes, or any others that you see, are of interest to you, please give me a call and we can arrange a private showing of the property and di... 02/29/2008