Hood Canal: Prices are cheaper inland, but views are still spectacular
But to demographers, Hinman and his wife, Midge, are something entirely different. They're trendsetters, members of the increasingly large group of adults buying second homes as antidotes to life's daily rat race. (Excuse Hinman again; his concentration has just been broken by the sight of a 600-foot-long submarine diving right outside his living-room windows.)
The Hinmans are also part of an ever-growing group of King County residents who've scouted beyond the usual desirable destinations — the San Juans, the Oregon coast — and chosen Hood Canal as the place to be.
"It's just absolutely beautiful today. It's dead calm, the tide is out. We have loads of oysters on our beach," says Hinman, whose permanent residence is in West Seattle.
Ah, Hood Canal. Two hours west of Seattle, it's North America's longest glacier-carved fjord. Some 60 miles of saltwater meander from Quilcene on the north end to Potlatch at the south, with Seal Rock, Brinnon, Lilliwaup, Hoodsport, Union and Seabeck dotted along the coastline. Not a one of these hamlets has more than a few thousand inhabitants, and long stretches of waterfront in between reveal scant development.
Indeed, for miles there's nothing but untouched forest carpeting the hillsides, shellfish-covered beaches, eagles overhead, and an occasional orca — or submarine — surfacing in water that in places is warm enough for swimming.
Late into a recent weekday morning, when many Puget Sounders were at work, the Hinmans were relaxing in their living room, in front of a V-shaped bank of two-story windows, taking in their 180-degree water view. "We're reading the paper, drinking our coffee. We like it, and we admit it," Orlo says, satisfied.
He and Midge are retired now, but their dream getaway here at Seal Rock was many years in the dreaming, planning and finally construction.
That's typical, says Valerie Schindler, formerly of Federal Way and now co-owner of the Windermere Realty office in Quilcene. Like many residents there, she and her husband discovered the area by camping in the abundant state and national parks campsites along the canal. Then the couple bought a waterfront cabin, ultimately trading it for a full-time waterfront home.
The profile
Schindler says the typical second-home buyers around these parts are "in their late 40s or early 50s. They're thinking about retirement, but not quite there yet. Most are from the Puget Sound area, then Oregon and California."
According to the National Association of Realtors, today's typical second-home buyer is 56, married, has a household income of $92,000 and is both younger and wealthier than those who bought second homes before 2000.
Since the stock-market dip, they're also more likely to see their vacation home purchase as an investment. That jibes with what buyers are telling Schindler. "People with poor-performing stocks are investing in second homes and land," she observes.
That's only one reason why second-home purchases are propelling her office toward another record-setting sales year. Mortgage-interest rates, which recently hit 40-year lows, are an important motivator. But a bigger one may simply be baby boomers tiring of the hassle factor.
"I think the stresses of the city are dragging people out of the city. They're looking for getaways with natural beauty."
West Realty agent Paul Garrett, who like Schindler and the Hinmans eased his way into full-time Hood Canal living (after 30 years in King County), says typical buyers are outdoors lovers who enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, boating, photography.
But the shopping isn't plentiful, so "if your idea of a good time is to get to Nordstrom's within 15 minutes, it's not a good thing here," Garrett said.
Waterfront is pricey, too
That aside, there are enough nature lovers afoot to make a serious impact on Hood Canal property prices. Schindler's business partner at Windermere, J.W. Olsen, recalls that as recently as five years ago the "average Joe" still had a shot at affording waterfront.
Now Olsen often finds himself telling potential buyers who think a cute waterfront cabin can be had for $50,000 that those prices are long gone.
Indeed, last year the waterfront parcels sold by his office ranged from $105,000 for a high-bank lot with some utilities and limited building potential, to $375,000 for an older one-story home on half an acre with choice low-bank waterfront.
Real-estate agent Don Holtz, who works the waterfront from John L. Scott's Silverdale office, says this year most canalside listings are "in the $300,000 and up price range. A lot of them are smaller, older houses, with nice beach access and nice, useable waterfront, as far as boating goes."
In the local pecking order, agents say low-bank waterfront anywhere is prime, with prices to match. The higher the bank, the less the land fetches. The most affordable is high-bank with no beach access. Much of that land also has no roads or utilities.
Because so many owners hang on to their properties for years or decades, availability — or rather the lack of it — is another major reason prices have been going up.
"Waterfront properties are not easy to come by," reports Garrett, so it can easily take buyers many months to find the right place.
Sometimes they change their mind and buy inland, where homes are markedly cheaper. Many of these have spectacular water or mountain views and prices that would make Seattle buyers swoon.
Just one example: a Brinnon-area home that offers a 20-mile canal view all the way to Hoodsport, and community beach rights besides. It's listed for $125,000.
"Lots of people get over here and realize they don't need to be on the water to enjoy it," Garrett continues. "I think that's real common."
Credit that to the availability of public beaches and boat launches, as well as three marinas.
Septic systems are a big issue
As high as waterfront prices seem, these agents estimate Hood Canal waterfront is still only about half the cost of similar properties in the San Juans. Plus canal real estate has not appreciated at nearly the rate seen recently in King County. And some parcels have actually decreased in value, which is a story in itself.
Olsen mentions a bare lot with 360 feet of high-bank waterfront that sold for $75,000 — his least expensive saltwater frontage sale this year. Five years ago, that same lot was on the market for $140,000. What happened?
Building setback regulations have been tightened. Explains Schindler: "Before, people would clear off trees on a bank and build. Now people can't. The issue is bank stability."
Indeed, newly toughened restrictions mean that $75,000 lot is now unbuildable and can be used only as a site for camping or RV usage.
Another big issue is Hood Canal's water quality. It's generally good, and the counties of Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason, which all claim a chunk of the coastline, are working to keep it that way.
"There is no water system, so everyone is on a well and has a septic system," reports Olsen. To the surprise of citified out-of-town buyers, "a big local issue is better septic systems."
Olsen tells them this, and advises checking out a home's system thoroughly before buying. Sometimes failed systems cannot easily be replaced; Olsen has heard of owners in those situations spending $30,000 for new septic. More typical, he says, is $8,000-$10,000 for a pressurized system.
All this brings us back to Orlo and Midge Hinman and their dream home on Seal Point. The house they built three years ago is just over 2,000 square feet — large enough, Orlo points out, for three bedrooms. "But because of certain limitations on septic, it's two bedrooms."
The entire process started in the mid-1990s when the Hinmans found two elderly adjacent cabins on narrow but prime waterfront lots. They realized if they could get both they would have enough land to build a real house, rather than a cabin. And they'd have enough land to accommodate that all-important septic system.
So they bought one house (and water rights from a well across the street) with the hope the other would come on the market. Eventually it did, but only after more than a year of uncertainty when its foreclosure greatly muddied its availability.
Then Orlo applied for his all-important septic permit. Getting it, "we made the house conform to the septic requirements."
In all, the septic and house permitting process was lengthy and complex. "If you're starting out cold, you probably think the whole system is designed to run you off," he says. "But it isn't. The rules are designed to keep the water clean. We don't want to foul our nest or anyone else's."
The Hinmans now spend most of the summer gazing out at the boats and marine life passing by Seal Rock or socializing with their neighbors at frequent potlucks. Sociability is a common neighborhood trait, Orlo affirms.
"This is really a wonderful place. I've said it's the best-kept secret, but it doesn't make any difference if others know about it because of the limited availability of property."
Which is yet another reason he prizes his second home so. "I have no intention of selling," he says. He'll soon check out the oysters on his beach.
Elizabeth Rhodes: erhodes@seattletimes.com