Gig Harbor,
the very name conjures up romantic thoughts of the sea, a picturesque
fishing village, the safety and security of a harbor, a little
seclusion, even offering a slower pace. Gig Harbor is surrounded
by water. This translates into gorgeous water views everywhere.
Some areas of the Sound are protected bays filled with a medley
of boats; others are wide-open and expansive waterways. To the
east are the Cascades and Mount Rainier. To the west is the Olympic
Mountain Range. The ocean is 2 hours away. There are rivers throughout
the State. There are ski areas less than 2 1/2 hours away.
Does this sound like a place you would like to live? If so,
contact Mike Esteb, your Gig Harbor WA Realtor.
It’s
a boater’s paradise, a fisherman’s paradise, skier,
hiker, biker, motor biker, sailor, kayaker, backpacker, did I
say fisherman? You get the idea – If you love the outdoors
then Gig Harbor is a town you should consider calling home. It
is this Realtors opinion that there is not another place in the
state that can offer a comparable quality of life – not
even close. I put together a
video of Gig Harbor to show its beauty.
Gig Harbor is 45 minutes away from
Seatac International Airport and about 2 hours away from Portland.
Seattle is about an hour and Tacoma is 15 minutes. There are
a large variety of restaurants, major league sports teams, and
the Arts are well represented.
Sure, there are plenty of places that offer the
great outdoors and airports and sports and entertainment but Gig
Harbor is different. Gig Harbor was a small fishing village. It
has grown but has been able to hang onto its old world charm. Very
few people are able to visit this town without falling in love
with it.
If you are familiar with the Bay Area, The City
of Gig Harbor feels like Sausalito did about 25 years ago and the
Gig Harbor area is sprawling like Marin County. By the way, the
prices will probably follow Marin County in a similar manner.
One of my extreme passions!
Gig Harbor,
Washington, was named by Captain Charles Wilkes, commander
of the American Exploration Expedition of 1838-1842. Wilkes'
crew was charting the area from a gig (a small boat) and a
longboat when they sought shelter in the Gig Harbor Bay during
a storm. The crew began calling our area "small harbor" and "gig
harbor."
Things have changed slightly since the Expedition named our charming harbor.
With a city population of 6,500 and growing, Gig Harbor boasts a vibrant economy
with inviting accommodations, interesting shopping, scrumptious dining, colorful
cultural arts, playful recreation, and diverse professional and personal services.
What
can you expect from this web site?
GigHarborRealEstate.com
is a real estate website that has a variety of ways to search
the mls. There are several searches in place such as view homes,
waterfront homes, and Gig Harbor homes for sale. Make sure
to check out the featured listings page as well. There is a
feature called “Search Saver” it is a buyer instant
notification system that sends out email to all subscribers
when a property is listed that matches their search criteria.
You can also save your favorite listings and email them to
your friends.
Every
week we analyze the condition of the Gig Harbor Real Estate
market by price range and post a report called the Market Condition
Report. We also include the absorption rate (the amount of
time it would take for all the properties in a price range
to sell, assuming no other properties were listed. Another
description of the absorption rate might be “months of
inventory”. If you would like to be notified when this
report is updated, please subscribe for notification.
There
are a few different maps; the most popular is the interactive
map to search the mls. There is also a map that shows the mls
area numbers of Gig Harbor, and the Gig Harbor public school
boundaries.
The crime
rate in Gig Harbor is so low compared to other cites that we
posted a report that compares Gig Harbors’ crime rate
to Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia.
There are school reports that include SAT scores, the Gig Harbor public and
private schools and a variety of school related information. There are demographic
reports that include income, age, population, household characteristics, and
employment.
If you
want to know how much your home is worth we are happy too send
you a list of homes for sale and homes that have sold that
are in your neighborhood or are similar to your home. This
will give you an idea of what your home is worth. I am also
happy to meet with you personally to discuss the value of your
home and how to go about selling your it. We have put our marketing
plan online for sellers to see what we do to get homes sold.
If you
are thinking about buying a home you will want to take a look
at our home buying services. There is a lot involved in buying
a home and we can stream line the process for you.
We have
put together a relocation package that is very helpful to newcomers
and we are happy to send it to you. It includes “What
you can expect from a Gig Harbor Lifestyle”, navigating
Gig Harbor, demographics, shopping, private schools, public
schools, churches, lodging, restaurants, recreation, things
to do, things for kids to do, new to the area utility information,
medical facilities, construction of the new hospital, and the
Narrows Bridge project.
There
is a bit of information about me – Mike Esteb and a
bunch of testimonials from people who have worked with
me and wanted to share their experience.
I put
together a "homes
for rent" section that has all the property management
companies in Gig Harbor along with their inventory. This is
one place on the web that probably has the most detailed list
of Gig Harbor homes for rent.
Finally,
the Gig
Harbor photo story; It takes about 5 minutes but it is
well worth it. This photo tour does a pretty good job of showing
the different personalities of Gig Harbor and you get to listen
to Santana in the background.
Gig
Harbor, Washington Demographics & Information
Gig Harbor area population as of
4/2002
City of Gig Harbor: 6,540
Gig Harbor/Key Peninsula Area: 66,000
Pierce County: 725,000
City of Gig Harbor Statistics
Incorporated: 1946
Area 4.18 square miles
Area 2,809 acres
Housing Units 3,091
Lineal Water Frontage 2.8 Miles
Persons Per Household 2.16
Urban Growth Area 3,808 Acres
Temperature
(Average seasonal temperatures)
Spring 55-65 degrees F
Summer 70-80 degrees F
Fall 55-65 degrees F
Winter 40-50 degrees F
Driest month July
Wettest month December
Average rainfall 37 inches (less than New York, NY or Houston, TX);
75% of which falls October through March.
Altitude:
sea level to 440 feet
Distances from Gig Harbor
Tacoma .......... 11 miles
Bremerton .......... 30 miles
Sea-Tac International Airport ......... 33 miles (45 minutes)
Olympia (State Capital) ......... 45 miles
Seattle .......... 49 miles
Olympic National Park (Staircase Rapids Area) ......... 65 miles
Mt. Rainier (Paradise Area) ........83 miles
Mt. St. Helen's (Johnstons Ridge Area) ......... 141 miles
Portland ......... 146 miles
Gig Harbor Recreation State Parks: 3
1) Joemma Beach State Park, off Key Peninsula
Hwy
2) Penrose Point State Park, 16 miles SW of Purdy, 321 158th Ave KPS
3) Kopachuck State Park, 5 miles west of GH
Local Park & Recreation Areas: 1) Crescent Lake Park, 14404 Talmo Dr NW, GH -
2 acres undeveloped
2) Cushman Powerline Trail, Reed Road & 28th St, GH -2 ½ miles non-motorized
public trail
3) Fox Island Fishing Pier, 1453 Ozette Dr, FI
4) Hales Pass Community Center, 3507 Ray Nash Dr NW, GH
5 ) Herron Point, Herron Rd, Key Peninsula boat launch -1.5 acres undeveloped
6 ) Narrows Park, 1600 Lucille Pkwy, GH
7) Peninsula Recreation Area, 6077 SR16 & Rosedale St, - 2 acres
8) Purdy Sand Spit, Goodrich Dr NW & SR302
9) Rosedale Playfield & Tennis courts, 86th Ave NW - 2 acres
10) Sunrise Beach, 10015 Sunrise Beach Dr NW -
82 acres undeveloped
Swimming pools: 3
Public golf courses: 3
Soccer and ball fields, tennis courts, skateboard park (2000),
sailing club; Close to snow skiing (2 hours); Water sports include:
scuba diving, sailing, kayaks, power boats, jet skis, wind surfing,
water skiing, harbor, marinas, and Mike's favorite - fishing.
Gig Harbor Home Sales 3/1/07 -3/1/08
Median Home Price: $438,000
Average Home Price $535,551
Highest Home Sale: $3,100,000
Lowest Home Sale: $ 108,000
Key Peninsula Home Sales
3/1/07 -3/1/08
Median Home Price: $242,475
Average Home Price $300,173
Highest Home Sale: $2,460,000
Lowest Home Sale: $ 67,000
Gig Harbor Apartment rents: $700 - 1,100
1999 median family income: $57,587
Average tax rate (per $1,000 assessed value): $13.41
The people of Gig Harbor, Washington
(includes urbanized area outside city limits)
Ethnic makeup: 95% Caucasian
Median age: 37
Enrolled in public school (K-12): 8,717
Completed four-year college or higher: 50% over age 25
Below are demographics sorted
by Gig Harbor zip codes
Zip code
Population
Population Change Since 1990
Number of households
Average Household Size
Median Age
Median Household Income
Average household Income
Per capita income
White Collar Jobs
Blue Collar Jobs
Median Dwelling Age (Years)
Median Travel Time to Work
