Seattle/Eastside Real Estate, June 2009

The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in June 2009 ranged from a low of 13% to a high of 23%, with an average 17% absorption rate. (The absorption rate is the number of homes for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of homes sold that month.)  Numbers are rounded off to the nearest whole number, unless the number is exactly .5% between two numbers.

Here are the real estate statistics for single family home sales activity on Seattle’s Eastside:

June, 2009           3859 homes for sale,         675  homes sold          17% chance of selling.

May, 2009            3841 homes for sale           557  homes sold          14% (16%) chance of selling.*

June,  2008          4305 homes for sale          478  homes sold            11% chance of selling.

*Adjusted from previous month’s original numbers to reflect the actual number of homes sold and closed.  Some of the sales from each month originally reported fall out and do not close.

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(You can still find the  MLS charts by clicking on each of the cities below.  Those charts have some of the same information as the chart above, but also show the real estate trends for the last 5 years which includes median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales are up or down.  If you look at the charts by city, you’ll notice the total number of homes for sale and the number of homes sold can vary slightly from those charts to the chart above.  The information for the charts is gathered at slightly different times so will vary slightly.  Regardless of the exact numbers, it’s clear the charts show the same trends, which is the most important piece of information.)

(click on city names for a chart showing the latest stats in the area)

The plateau:  Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City

The chances of selling were 21%.

Median sales price decreased by 15% from $589,000 to $499,950.

Inventory was down by 12% and sales were up by 13% from last year.

West Redmond/East Bellevue

The chances of selling were 23%.

Median sales price decreased to $499,950 from $549,500 a decrease of 9%.

Inventory was down 11% and sales were down 1%. (74 vs. 75 sales)

South Bellevue

The chances of selling were 14.5%.

Median price decreased by 4% from $610,000 to $588,975

Inventory was down by 15.5% and sales were up 24%.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland

The chances of selling were 18%.

Median price was down to $419,950 from $498,875, a 15% decrease.

Inventory was down by 15% from last year and sales were up by 12.5%.

Kirkland

The chances of selling were 15%.

Median price decreased by18%, from $724,950  to $596,925.

Inventory was down by 12% and sales were down by 6%.

West Bellevue

The chances of selling were 13%.

Median pricing decreased by34%  from $1,294,750 to $849,000.

Inventory decreased by 2% and sales increased by 57%.

Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation

The chances of selling were 19%

Median pricing decreased by 21%  from $671,035 to $529,950.

Inventory decreased by 5% and sales increased by 43%.

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Thoughts on the June 2009 Seattle Eastside real estate market:

• Most eastside homes had 17% chance of selling.  Seventeen out of 100 homes had offers last month and are now pending.
• It looks like 11% of the home sales fell out of escrow, as the absorption rate for May dropped by 2%.  Originally, there were 624 pending sales, so 67 offers did not stay together.  This is a high number of failed sales and could  be the result of inspections in which buyers and sellers do not agree, an appraisal that does not justify the sales price or lenders who do not package the loan properly.  If a lender doesn’t put the buyers information together correctly or doesn’t understand all that will be required, then the loan may not be approved.
  
• Best odds of selling:once again it’s Redmond, near Microsoft, and East Bellevue with a 23% chance.
  
• Most difficult odds of selling:  West Bellevue, with a 13% chance of selling a home.  Yet, West Bellevue had the biggest increase from last year with the chance of getting a home sold.
  
• The number of homes for sale is still less than last year, but the home sales were up in almost every part of the eastside.

Both The Seattle Times and KPLU had good stories about the more positive Seattle area real estate market.