Seattle/Eastside real estate is more balanced.  The number of homes for sale is down, which is a good thing, and the number of home sales are up, another good thing, all over greater Seattle.  What’s not up are home prices.

From all the real estate activity we’re now seeing,  it appears we’ve bottomed out. More home buyers feel it’s safe to go out and buy a home. The stock market has come back to twice what it was in March and more high end homes are selling.  Both point to a renewed confidence in Seattle area real estate.

The map shows a market more balanced between buyers and sellers than we had even earlier this summer, never mind last year.  However, pockets remain in which buyers still have more of an advantage as evidenced by the “green” areas still on the map. Buyers markets still exist in parts of King and Snohomish County.  The strongest areas for selling a home are in Seattle proper.

However, in all areas, be prepared for any and everything with real estate sales in the coming months. There is no “one size fits all.”  Home sales will depend on the price point, location, the home’s condition, the competition, and/or a combination of these things. Some homes will sell quickly and for a good price, others will still undergo significant price reductions to meet market expectations, and others will sell, but for less than one would expect.

What do the numbers on the map mean? The map is divided into the numbered areas as defined by our Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS).  Downtown Bellevue is area 520 and East Bellevue is area 530, as an example.

What do the colors mean?

Red means it’s a sellers’ market, a sellers’ advantage.

Yellow means a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Green means its a buyers’ market.

If you take each area as shown on the map and look to the area number on the side of the map, it will tell you how long it would take to sell every home currently for sale if no other home came up on the market in that area.