Seattle Among Country’s Best Sellers’ Markets

*Synced from Seattle and Real Estate Blog

We’ve seen the Seattle residential real estate market explode over the past several months, with bidding wars galore and homes selling for thousands over their asking prices. While price gains began to slow toward the end of summer, Zillow is reporting that the Seattle-area market remains one of the best sellers’ markets in the country, in large part due to low housing inventory.
Inventory of single-family homes in King County is up slightly from a year ago, rising from 1.91 months of inventory in July 2013 to 2.08 months’ worth in August 2014. Inventory in Seattle alone was actually down from a year ago, dropping from 1.47 months to 1.36 months, which is far below the six months’ worth of supply that generally constitutes a healthy market.
Zillow says that rising prices are not the only indicator of a market favoring sellers. They also factor in how long homes stay on the market, how many price cuts occur, and how close the final selling price is to the last asking price. The top five sellers’ markets in the Seattle area are Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, Seattle proper, Issaquah, and Snoqualmie.
If you are interested in buying or selling a home in the Seattle area, contact your local real estate agent today.

May Stats Preview: Inventory and Sales Are Up

Based on King and Snohomish County public records, foreclosures are   slowly decreasing to normal levels while inventory rose for the second month in a row. Measured by the number of “Warranty Deeds” filed with King County, sales rose 15% from March to April and were up 28% year-over-year. In Snohomish County, sales rose 8% month-over-month and 26% from May of last year.
Foreclosures in King County fell again but were just above last year’s level. Although Snohomish County increased in foreclosures, they are still at their second-lowest level in the last 11 months.
Buyers will be happy to hear that inventory in King County rose 15.6% this year compared to 2.3% between April and May of last year. Listing fell 3.1% last year in Snohomish County. This year they were up 6.0%.

Nationwide Open House Happening This Weekend

The Nationwide Open House Weekend is happening June 4th and 5th, brought to you by the National Association of Realtors. In Washington state alone, organizers estimate that around 7,000 homes will be open, tripling the amount of any ordinary weekend. You’ll have the chance to tour many of Washington’s homes for sale and be able to navigate easily with a customized list and blue balloon markers. Please visit the official event page for more information.

Seattle Real Estate Selling Fast if Priced Right

Ewing and Clark brought this Seward Park house on the market last week and within two days it was pending. This is not unusual. Real estate in Seattle is selling, especially if it is priced reasonably from the beginning. Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood is a great example of this. According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), in the last 6 months 31 homes have sold in the Mt Baker neighborhood. Of those almost 1/3 of the homes (9) went pending in less than 10 days. Of the 9 Mount Baker homes that sold in less than 10 days, 6 of them sold for the original list price or higher. Of the 22 Mt Baker homes that sold in more than 10 days, only 2 sold for the original list price or higher. Both of those homes sold relatively quickly as well - going pending within 30 days.

While these statistics are a good example of what is going on in the Seattle real estate market, it should be pointed out that there are other well priced homes available for purchase - even if they are on the market for more than 10 days. For example, this (click link) Mount Baker home is priced nearly $40,000 less than what the house a few doors down just sold for two months ago. Both homes are nicely finished with the same amount of bedrooms. In fact, the house still currently for sale has more bathrooms than the house that sold.

So if you a buyer looking for a home to purchase, you should get your ducks in a row to be ready for the next great house that is listed, get to know the market so you know a great house when you see it, and do not forget the homes that are already on the market - there are fantastic homes already available.

Statistics not compiled or published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.