Cooler Weather Brings a Cooler Real Estate Market on Seattle’s Eastside

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Through September, 2013

Along with the cooler fall weather on Seattle's Eastside, the real estate market has cooled a bit.  The hot market of early this year began to cool off in July and continued into September.  

Does this mean we are in a bad real estate market?  Each time the market changes, people read more into it than is needed.  Our market is slower, but still very strong.  We're in a more balanced, evenly paced market, which is a good thing.   With homes selling on average in a little over a month, the real estate market is a good one.  The market is a strong market, it's just not as crazy and fast paced as earlier this year. 

The number of homes for sale dropped for the first time this year and inventory remains low.  Sales activity, although still good, also declined. Ironically, the percentage of homes selling as compared to what's available, 41%, is not that much different than last year when 37.5% of the homes sold.  The pace of the market is very similar to September, 2012, however time on the market is much shorter and median pricing is much stronger.

As I mentioned last month, this means pricing is paramount.  With our more realistic market, buyers won't be as willing to jump.  They're going to be more critical and evaluate the pricing of a home more carefully. We're in a more normal market in which buyers have the luxury of a little more time.  They will evaluate and pick and choose those homes that are priced right and show well. 

Here are the specifics for September, 2013 as compared to September, 2012:

• 41% of the available homes sold this past September,  37.5% sold in September, 2012.
• Homes sold in 37 days, down from 68 days in September, 2012. 
• In 2012 median pricing in September was $500,000.  In 2013, September's median pricing was $585,000.

If you'd like to know more about the value of your home, please don't hesitate to contact us.