Sellers had a 14% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in January of 2008. ( click on 2008 year to date statistics in the link above for a chart showing the condo report)

January, 2008     1059 condos for sale, 149 condos sold, 14% chance of selling.

December, 2007    949 condos for sale, 135 condos sold, 14% chance of selling.

January, 2007       507 condos for sale, 288 condos sold, 56% chance of selling.

 This January inventory more than doubled from last year, while sales declined by almost half of what sold last January.  However, the chances of selling a condo are the same as last month.  Both inventory and sales increased this month, keeping the chances for selling at the same level.

Median pricing dipped a bit from last month by just a few thousand dollars.  In December the median price for condo sales was at $344,414.  This month it’s $341,249.  Last year, even though the market was popping, the median price was $267,949. 

So, we defy the trends again with a 27.4% increase in pricing in a “down” market? This number may be an anomaly as pricing for all of 2007 condos increased by 8%.  The median price for any month is a reflection of the sales for that particular month, so last January’s sales may have included more entry level condos, which resulted in a huge increase in median pricing this year when more expensive condos sold.  When we see February’s statistics, which will come out in March, we will have a better feel for the actual increase in pricing.