Housing Prices in Western Washington Still Rising Despite Fewer Sales, Expanding Inventory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 6, 2007

FOR INFORMATION............Jack Johnson, NWMLS president & CEO, 425.820-9200

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KIRKLAND, Wash. (Aug. 6, 2007) - Fewer homes sold last month around Western Washington compared to 12 months ago, but they fetched higher prices, according to a new report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Its figures show both inventory and prices are still rising.

NWMLS members reported 8,614 pending sales across the 19 counties in its market area during July. That volume of offers made and accepted (but not yet closed) is down 6 percent from a year ago when members notched 9,165 pending sales.

Prices are still rising, but at more moderate rates in most areas. Area-wide, the median price for last month's closed sales of single family homes and condominiums rose 6.3 percent from July 2006.

In King County, the median sales price for last month's completed transactions of single family homes and condominiums (combined) jumped nearly 9 percent from a year ago, rising from $390,000 to $425,000. The median selling price for a single family home rose 10.6 percent to $481,000.

Members added 14,875 new listings of single family homes and condos to the inventory during July - the smallest number since March when they added 14,281 new listings. Those additions brought the system-wide total to 47,106 offerings across 19 counties. The current selection is about 48 percent larger than a year ago when there were 31,910 active listings.

Homes that are well-priced and well-prepared for showing will stand out from the competition and command top dollars, brokers emphasize.

"The prettiest homes with the most reasonable prices on the block are selling - and some are getting multiple offers," said NWMLS director Kathy Estey, managing broker of a John L. Scott office in Bellevue.

Contrary to many areas with slower activity, Bellevue remains robust. The volume of closed sales surpassed year-ago totals and prices are rising at a faster clip than the MLS average. The median price for last month's closed sales of single family homes (excluding condos) with a Bellevue address was $750,000, a jump of $80,000 (11.9%) from 12 months ago.

"It's a nice time to buy and sell," Estey commented. "The market feels a lot more peaceful as the frenzy cools and a more balanced market takes its place. We are healthy on the Eastside," she exclaimed.

Sam Pace, the South King County housing specialist for the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors® and a Realtor with Executive Real Estate, agreed. "We've got a very healthy, positive, stable market in South King County and north Pierce County - one of the best in the nation," he stated, adding, "Homes that are well-priced by serious and savvy sellers are continuing to be snapped up rather quickly."

Pace said the South Sound area offers some of the best opportunities for single family buyers in the central Puget Sound Region, "but only if buyers are pre-approved and ready to act expeditiously."

In contrast to the eastside of King County, where last month's median sales price for single family homes and condos was $550,000, dwellings that sold in southeast King County had a median price of $350,000; in the southwest section of the county, the median selling price was an even more affordable $310,000.

NWMLS director Dick Beeson said despite a rising frustration level for some agents who "are not keeping their head in the game," and the slower market, "There is still a lot of business being done." Beeson, the broker/owner of Windermere Real Estate/Commencement Associates in Tacoma, noted buyers are still seeking bargains and many sellers remain unrealistic in their pricing. Buyers are getting good values, he acknowledged, but overpriced properties are languishing on the market.

"The market has settled into a steady rhythm," Beeson remarked, who said he believes the market will actually pick up toward the end of summer and into fall.

The condominium market remains active, with the volume of both pending sales and closed sales out-gaining year-ago totals. Pending sales rose about 3.7 percent. Prices for last month's completed transactions were about 10.5 percent higher than for condos that sold a year ago.

Condo buyers have a wide choice of styles across the price spectrum. Inventory is almost 75 percent bigger than twelve months ago. According to New Home Trends, a Bothell company that tracks new construction, there are approximately 29,000 condos in various stages of development and construction in the four-county Puget Sound region, with only a fraction of them currently in the MLS database.

Nearly half the condo inventory in the NWMLS system is located in King County. Of the nearly 3,000 listings currently offered for sale within the county, about one of every five is classified as new construction.

Lawrence Yun, senior economist at the National Association of Realtors®, said tightening lending standards are continuing to hamper sales, but fewer risky loans will put the market on a healthier path. Mixed signals about the housing market are causing some hesitancy among consumers, Yun believes. Although general buying conditions remain favorable for long-term home buyers, he said it appears "some buyers are looking for more signs of stability before they have enough confidence to make an offer."

Both Beeson and Estey commented on more restrictive lending practices. "The subprime market failures have hurt the re-fi market and this could eventually mean more properties will come up for sale," Beeson stated. Lenders are tightening the reins on qualifying, Estey remarked, adding, "But rates are good."

Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed rate loan dropped slightly last week to an average of 6.71 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. HSH Associates, Financial Publishers reported a slightly higher rate of 6.87 percent.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, based in Kirkland, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. The MLS is owned by its member brokers and currently encompasses nearly 2,100 companies with more than 26,000 sales associates. Together, they serve 19 counties, mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state.

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