The red-hot real estate market in Washington State has been on the rise for quite some time and has officially descended upon Grays Harbor. With the market at an all-time high, Windermere Real Estate Ocean Shores has felt the effects in the small coastal city, and Branch Manager Jim Donahoe discusses how it has changed Ocean Shores.
At Windermere Ocean Shores, the brokers are experienced and eager to help, not just the city, but all of the North Beach area and serve Ocean Shores, Ocean City, Copalis Beach, Seabrook, Pacific Beach and Moclips. Whether you’re searching for residential, condominiums, multi-family, land, farms, timberland, or commercial real estate, the team has the expertise to help you find the property you’ve been searching for.
Jim reflects that “Our family moved to the beach in 1962 and owned and operated Alexander’s By the Sea resort in Ocean City. My dad started his own real estate office in 1964. He passed in 1976 and my mom and I decided to carry on the business and obtained our individual licenses. Ever since, I have specialized in commercial real estate.”
The Windermere Ocean Shores office first opened in 1991 by Tom Quigg who then also owned the Westport and Aberdeen Windermere locations. At that time, Jim became the Designated Broker and managed the office. Eventually Tom sold the Aberdeen and Ocean Shores offices to current owner, Travis Jelovich.
Jim left Windermere in 2001 and operated his own resort development consulting business across the US and Western Mexico. Upon returning in 2014 he became Branch Manager of the office. In 1996 he achieved the level of Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). “I’ve been working in this industry for many years and have completed many development transactions, says Jim. “I’ve had a great time being productive in this role in our community. Today, I can only describe the current market as ‘fast and furious.’”
Jim goes on to explain how he’s truly never seen the local market as hot as this. In the City of Ocean Shores over the last two years nearly 200 homes have been built annually. While the trend formerly reflected mostly snowbirds using their properties in this portion of Grays Harbor during the summer months as well as retirees, the working world has changed to allow many more people to work from a remote setting. This allows more opportunity to build a life at the beach and out of the big cities.
Jim has a concern about the sustainability of constantly rising prices. Recently however there have been signs of a slight correction. “We’re beginning to see sellers who have priced their properties extremely high coming back to earth a bit,” explains Jim. “While the change is minor, it’s noteworthy. A small correction is much better than a bubble bursting”. Regarding commercial activity, Jim explains that he believes the Ocean Shores area is getting to the point where regional retail brands are beginning to have an interest in locating to the area as a more permanent population settles in.
Working in these market conditions takes a lot of energy and patience. Jim knows that his office of eight active brokers and three staff are well equipped to handle the pace. “Recently,” states Jim, “I walked around and asked our agents ‘why do you work here?’ Time and time again, they mentioned it’s because of the ‘Windermere Way.’ We really pride ourselves on maintaining high ethics, mutual respect and creating a great company that people enjoy working for. One other component is having fun… which is very important in any career choice.”
While the market continues to change with each passing day, Windermere Real Estate Ocean Shores is prepared to assist you in all your real estate needs and guide you to the ideal solution. To learn more, visit the Windermere Real Estate Ocean Shores website.
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