Seattle's real estate inventory continues to shrink, as the number of Seattle homes for sale decreased last month by a margin that we haven't seen in a decade or more. The total inventory of homes on the market in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA region contracted by 42.85 percent in the past year, according to Realtor.com. The market for home buyers has been cut nearly in half in one year, mainly because of a lack of bank-owned properties being resold and a fair number of sellers being unmotivated or underwater.
Home buyers in this market have changed their negotiating techniques significantly in recent months to compensate. Close to half of our brokers' transactions this Spring and Summer have been multiple-offer situations, and homes receiving offers above their list prices are becoming fairly common occurrences. While this trend could certainly ease if inventory grows, there are no signs that inventories will increase in the short-term future.
From Realtor Magazine:
Inventory of for-sale single-family homes, condos, townhouses, and co-ops dropped more than 19 percent in June compared to a year ago, REALTOR.comreports in its analysis of 146 markets nationwide.
Of the 146 markets across the U.S. that REALTOR.com analyzed, only three markets did not see inventory levels fall year-over-year, including Denver, Philadelphia, and Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Meanwhile, the median national list price rose 2.68 percent in June compared to June 2011, REALTOR.com reports.
“Low inventories, combined with steadily rising list prices are positive signs that the overall market is gaining traction and is entering a recovery mode,” REALTOR.com noted in a statement on the housing data.
California cities are seeing the largest drops in inventory levels, and the tightened supply of homes for-sale is sparking higher demand among home buyers. The following markets posted the largest inventory drops in June compared to June 2011, according to the REALTOR.com housing data:
- Oakland, Calif.: -57.92%
- Fresno, Calif.: -49.10%
- Bakersfield, Calif.: -47.37%
- Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.: -42.85%
- San Jose, Calif.: -41.98%
- San Francisco, Calif.: -39.68%
- Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.: -39.50%
- Stockton-Lodi, Calif.: -38.92%
- Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.: -38.08%
- Atlanta, Ga.: -37.92%
- Sacramento, Calif.: -35.95%
© Seattle Homes, LLC: - Sam DeBord, Managing Broker, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Seattle: Coldwell Banker Danforth & Associates
Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Sam (at) SeattleHome.comData Source: NWMLS - The Northwest Multiple Listing Service did not compile or publish this information.
- Pueblo, Colo.: -34.59%
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