Protocol for the Flag

The American flag is obviously a symbol of our country but it has come to remind us of every man and woman who has fought for the freedom that we enjoy. The emotions that are stirred by images of our flag can run from happiness to sadness to trust and everything in between.

Most of us learned American flag etiquette or the Flag Code when we were young but occasionally, it is a good idea to review the guidelines so that the flag is treated with the respect it deserves.

• The U.S. flag should not be flown at night unless a light is shown on it.
• The U.S. flag should not be flown upside down except as a distress signal.
• The flag should never touch the ground.
• A U.S. flag should be displayed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff in mourning.
• When displaying multiple flags of a state, community or society on the same flagpole, the U.S. flag must always be on top.
• When flown with flags of states, communities, or societies on separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight line, the flag of the United States is always placed in the position of honor - to its own right. No flag should be higher or larger than the U.S. flag. The U.S. flag is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered.
• When the U.S. flag is flown with those of other countries, each flag should be the same size and must be on separate poles of the same height. Ideally, the flags should be raised and lowered simultaneously.

More information on flag etiquette can be found at the Veterans of Foreign Wars website.

Home Sales Report for Clark County WA - April 2018

 Home Sales Staying Strong in Clark County WA for April 2018.

Although some parts of the County are showing weakness, that has been made up in Vancouver and Ridgefield. Here are the key highlights for April's results: 

• Average-Sales Prices are on their way back up; with the 12-month/long-term trend line up 10.94% compared to April 2017,  and the 3-Month Moving Average is up 10.65% from last year; 
   
• The Inventory for Resale Homes rose again to a healthier 1.6 Months Supply;
   
• Approximately 526 Resale Homes were sold in the month, which is about 21 more (4.2%) homes than in 2017; although 4 fewer than last month.
   
• REO/Bank Owned property sales were 9 units (1.7% of total); up from 6 (1.2%) in 2017. 
   
• Short Sale /Pre-Foreclosure property sales were 0 units (0% of total); down from 4 (0.8%) in 2017.

The month-end, 30-year-fixed home loan benchmark interest rate is 4.47% (up from 4.44% last month) according to Freddie Mac; compared to 4.05% for April 2017.

Now we come to my custom graphs/charts prepared for Clark County. A very simple "smoothing" method is employed to easily show the short-term trend (3-month moving average in Red); and long-term trend (12-month moving average in Blue). 

Clark County Home Sales - Units Sold Trend April 2018

The short-term trend-line shows the "bottom" for the year is behind us, with the activity picking up similar to the recent prior years. The long-term line is still below the peak level but is relatively level - a mode we expect to continue for the near future.

In the next chart for Average Sales prices shown in the next chart (below) have moving up strongly again with the "Spring Rush" of home sales. 

Clark County Home Sales - Average Sales Price Trend April 2018

The April short term Average sales price for Clark County is now up to $379,758. This is an increase of about $36,539 from the same month last year.

Clark County Home Sales Inventory
& Days on Market - April 2018

Our final three graphs from RMLS show:

New Listings have eased slightly, while Pending and Closed sales have held steady. 

The second graph is showing the continued surge in the price for new listings, and the upward movement in Closed Sales prices.

Finally, for the Days on the Market, the Average dropped substantially, and the Median is now less than one week.

We also have more information from the RMLS published report on the Clark County real estate scene can be found here: RMLS Market Action Report on our website.

---

PS - This is now the High Season in our area, and may be an opportune time to List and Sell Your Home with Our Team for 2018; or, at least find out what your home is worth!  We offer a no-cost, no-obligation Clark County WA Home Valuation, and invite you to try it out!

PPS - You are invited to visit our web-page for Clark County WA  Homes For Sale where it is Quite Easy to search by City, Neighborhood or by Category, with homes and real estate listings from the entire RMLS.  Sign-up Not Required!  The property and home listings shown are provided via many updates each day, and you will be e-mailed hourly with any new matches once you've signed up for a home search.

We also have the MLS Listings for these great towns in Clark County:  Battle Ground WA Real Estate | Brush Prairie WA Homes | Camas WA Homes For Sale | Hockinson WA Homes | La Center WA Homes for sale | Ridgefield WA Homes for sale | Homes for sale in Vancouver Washington | Washougal WA Real Estate | Yacolt WA Homes | Amboy WA Homes

---

The information and charts in this Clark County WA real estate update (prepared by Vancouver WA Real Estate Broker, John Slocum, CRS, SFR, our resident statistician) are based on home sales recorded in the Clark County WA MLS system (RMLS), excluding sales of mobile home; and shows the purchase activity since 2009; charting the 3 month Moving average number of sales, and the 12 month Moving average.  This "smoothing" of the trend-data helps illustrate the short-term and longer term trends in Clark County's real estate market.

Disclaimer: as with any real estate statistics, we do our best to provide the best representation at the time the data was acquired and compiled.  The data and reports are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.