More houses are available, but prices continue to creep upward.

Take a deep breath…and exhale.

The island’s frenzied real estate market may finally be slowing, offering both buyers and sellers a chance to rest their legs.

While the single-family home inventory on the market has nearly doubled over the past three months – something that bodes well for buyers – the median home price has continued to ascend as well, a boon for sellers.

What those tweaks will mean to the future market is a matter of opinion among the real estate crowd, but there is a general consensus that things are leveling out.

“Basically, we’ve been going 100 miles per hour and now we’ve slowed down to 60 or 65,” said Georg Syvertsen, owner/broker of Deschamps Real Estate. “This is a more balanced market. It’s not buyer biased and it’s not seller biased.”

Year-to-date, 25 percent fewer Bainbridge Island single-family homes have sold compared to 2005, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks home sale statistics in several counties across the state.

Meanwhile, the median single-family home price – the point at which half of homes cost more and half less – hit $643,000 in July, nearly $100,000 more than at this time last year.

The number of condominium units sold has nearly doubled from this time last year, but the median cost has dipped to $289,000, from $362,595 last July.

The statistics are consistent – inventory is up, sales are down – but prices remain higher than might be expected with more sellers entering the market.

“The market’s a little funny right now,” said Jim Laws, owner/broker of Windermere Bainbridge Island. “It’s almost house-specific. The statistics can be deceiving. People just need to be careful.”

For sellers, Laws said, that means being more realistic about what their homes will fetch.

In the single-family home market, inventory in the more moderate $400,000-to-$500,000 range is scarce.

“A $500,000 house today was a $300,000 house two years ago,” Laws said. As prices for all island homes continue to appreciate, more homes between $900,000 and $2 million are becoming available.

Syvertsen said that the more expensive houses skew the median and sometimes convolute people’s perceptions about the value of their home.

“The median isn’t necessarily a reflection of appreciation in the value of their particular home,” he said.

Condos here

Meanwhile, the condominium market has snared the attention of most island realtors, as several projects are near completion.

Some, like Laws and Syvertsen, are watching closely to see what kind of buyers are jumping into the condo market.

“The condominium market is now a fact of life on Bainbridge Island,” Laws said. “Not all people are buying to move in or rent.”

That includes investors who buy units early, sometimes before ground is broken, and then resell at a profit.

In some cases, units that have never been lived in may compete with brand-new units if inventory remains high.

For now, though, it is a waiting game.

Barb McKenzie, owner/broker of Coldwell Banker McKenzie Associates, said the condo market is very healthy, particularly as many island residents look to downsize.

“We’re seeing a lot of couples with kids who’ve gone away to college and like the idea of condo living,” she said.

As an example, she said, Island Crossings, a 60-unit project recently completed on High School Road, is already 70 percent sold.

Prices there range from $229,000 to $389,000 for one- and two-bedroom units.

While those prices fall near the island’s condo median, there are also new units priced well above that number.

Madrone Village, a new mixed-use development on Winslow Way west of Winslow Green, has sold five of the 38 units in the project, which won’t be completed until December.

Prices there start at $425,000 for a townhome and top out at $950,000 for a penthouse.

McKenzie has noticed some slowing, but said the market is about on par with Seattle and the rest of Kitsap County.

“People are taking more time to look at inventory,” she said. “But we’re still getting good, strong offers.”

With all the activity, Laws said the next six months will be interesting to watch.

“There are a lot of units coming on,” he said. “If I was a developer, unless I had something to differentiate my project from the competition, I would wait and see how quickly the current inventory gets absorbed.”