Seattle Eastside Real Estate from 2009-2013

Looking for a terrific picture of the state of real estate on Seattle's Eastside?  Here it is!  Since we're at the beginning of a new year, it's good to see where we've been over the last 5 years.  It gives a good indication of where we're headed for 2014.

The above chart highlights the most important trends in real estate over the last 5 years, from 2009-2013.  You can find median pricing, the number of homes on the market and the number of home sales per month and by year, and how long the supply would last, based on the number of home sales per month.  

Here's how each of the three sections of the chart are set up.  Each portion is divided by the years 2009-2013, as you can see along the bottom of the chart.  The blue bars show a different month in each of these years.  The red line shows the average for the year. 

The top portion of the chart has the information everyone seems to want to know first, the median pricing.   The fabulous news is how much higher median pricing is now than just a few years ago.  On the eastside, the average median price for a home sale was just under $600,000 at $596,848. 

The second chart demonstrates why prices have increased so dramatically.  It's the law of supply and demand.  The supply dropped considerably in 2012 and and 2013, thus increasing demand for this drastically decreased inventory of homes for sale, causing prices to jump.  With the amount of inventory at a low point at the start of 2014, we expect listings to move very quickly.  Our first listing of the year sold in 24 hours.  The home was not underpriced.  It was well priced, staged beautifully, and in excellent condition.  This type of home is very "hot" right now, as buyers are looking to find great homes. 

Another interesting detail to notice on the middle portion of the chart besides the decline in supply, is the number of home sales each year stays more constant, even as the supply changes.  The number of sales did increase in the last two years, but not nearly as dramatically as the decline in supply,  The increase in sales is a reflection of more buyers feeling comfortable making home purchases.

The lower section shows how much of a supply of homes there is available each month.  In 2009, when there were, on average 3400 homes for sale, it would have taken over 6 months to sell all the homes.  In 2013, when the Seattle Eastside real estate had so few homes for sale, it would have taken 1 1/2 months to sell all the available homes.

The take away from all of this is how terrific we find the real estate market to be at the end of 2013, which is the start of 2014 market.  We have low inventory plus many buyers equaling a high demand for homes, short market times, and increasing prices.  If you plan to make a move in 2014, consider doing so early in the year, when the inventory is at a low point.  Homes sell in every month on the eastside as you can see from this chart, the competition is far less when there are fewer homes for sale.

If you'd like more specific information regarding your home and/or you're thinking about making a move, feel free to contact us.  All the best in 2014!

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Sales Through March, 2013

Finally, there were a few more homes for sale on Seattle's eastside in March, the first month since August of last year!

Did this increase in inventory dampen the number of sales?  So far, nothing has slowed down the rate of sales.  In fact, the rate of home sales in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and other eastside cities was higher in March than February.   Seventy-eight percent of the homes on the market sold!  There is still more than one buyer for each home, so multiple offers remain the norm.

It's been hopping out there in the real estate market on the eastside.  We're starting to see some Eastside buyers behave like Seattle buyers.  This past weekend, a buyer pre-inspected one of our listings before making an offer.  Rumor had it that there were going to be at least 4 offers on the table and this particular buyer wanted to come to that table with a very clean, straightforward offer.  Buyers in Seattle have pre-inspected homes for years when the market has been hot.  It's not something we've seen as much on the eastside, but we wouldn't be surprised if it continues. 

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

• 78% of the available homes sold this past March,  44% sold in March, 2012.
• Homes sold in 62 days, down from 109 days in March, 2012. 
• In 2012 median pricing in March was $470,000.  In 2013, March's median pricing was $560,000.  We're expecting median pricing to continue to work its way back up to the higher $500+ range, particularly since inventory is still so low.

The Seattle Times reported  a 17% increase in pricing from March, 2012 on the eastside.

       It was the biggest monthly percentage gain since April 2012, when King County’s median home price started rising after 19 months of decline.

If you'd like more information specific to your home, don't hesitate to contact us.

Will there be any condos available to buy on Seattle's eastside in 2013?  If we look at the chart, it sure looks like the number of available condos could disappear!   Right now, if no more condos were to come on the market, it would take less than 2 months to sell those currently available.    We really expect condos to be on the market next year, but it's clear we'll start out with little for sale.  

The number of condos for sale in Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Redmond, Sammamish and other eastside cities has been cut in half since March of this year.  That's a huge drop in a short amount of time. 

Not as many condos sold this past month when compared to other months of this year.  However, because the number of condos for sale is so small, 56% of the condos on the market sold last month. 

Median pricing has increased from last year by $20,000 to $242,000.

We do expect the number of condos for sale to stay low in 2013 as many are still hoping to recover some of the value of their condos before making a move. 

Stay tuned to the first of the year, which is just around the corner.  We'll do a wrapup of this year's condo sales on Seattle's eastside.

Have a great New Year!

In the third quarter of 2012, almost 30% of the homes that sold in the cities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, Woodinville, Issaquah sold for over full price!  The demand by buyers for homes and the lack of inventory is creating this huge uptick in competition for a home. When more buyers are competing for the same house, the offers often have to be for more than full price to stand out from the competition.   Many homes are now getting multiple offers and many, almost a third, are now selling for more than the asking price. 

We've recently sold several listings in which the selling price was over $20,000 more than the asking price!  In one instance, the home had come on the market only hours before.  The buyers didn't want to take the risk that another offer would be written before the seller had time to respond, so they offered over full price.  Another home sold within 48 hours.  Three buyers made offers for that home. 

As you can see in the above chart, the homes that sell for more than full price, sell for about 3% above the asking price, with the range from just a hair over asking price all the way to 22.5% above the asking price!

Twenty-one percent of the homes sold for full price.  This means 51% of the homes on the eastside sold for full price or more!

The homes that sold above full price only lasted on the market, on average,16 days.  Homes that sold for full price were on the market for about a month. 

But what about the other 49%?  (Not to be confused with the 47% that was talked about in the election) 

Why did half the homes sell for less than full price if the market is so hot?  More than likely, one of these reasons was the cause:

• Location
• Pricing
• Condition
• Marketing
• Competition

You can't change the location or the fact that there is competition for a particular home.  But when selling a home, you need to maximize your buyer attraction by pricing your home well, having it in stellar condition, and presenting it well to the buyers through fabulous marketing.

If you have questions about how to have your home be one of the 51% that sells for full price or more, feel free to contact us!

Please think about shopping and donating to the drive on September 29th all over the eastside at supermarkets in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Woodinville and Sammamish.  The Eastside Month of Concern for the Hungry campaign to fill Seattle-Eastside food bank shelves is happening this weekend.  Many supermarkets all over the eastside will have volunteers ready and waiting to pick up food and cash donations for such Eastside institutions as Hopelink, the Emergency Feeding Network, the Issaquah Foodbank, and The Mercer Island Foodbank. Food bank shelves are a little barer this time of year and the need for food on the eastside has only increased over the last few years.

Part of living in a home in a neighborhood is part of being in a community.  Help your community out by donating even a little to those who are less fortunate.

Happy shopping!

How was the real estate market on Seattle's eastside in August?

The market has been" steady as she goes!"  This is a very good thing.  We are experiencing a great real estate market that has followed a trend over the last few months and is far better than last year at this time.  

The number of homes for sale has hardly changed at all.  Ok, there were 8 fewer homes for sale in August, but that's just a drop in the bucket.  And as we mentioned in a recent, the exact same number of homes were for sale in both June and July! 

Did the number of homes for sale increase?

No, It hardly changed, but it did decline slightly.  This had little impact on the market.

Did the number of sales increase? 

Yes, by 6%. So we had about the same number of homes for sale, but more homes sold in August.  This sounds good to me. 

Did prices continue to increase? 

Yes, they have continued to increase, but only slightly.  Median pricing in July was $512,000.  This August it's $520,000.  Last August median pricing for the eastside was $506,000. 

This is the third month in a row that median pricing has been up for the year.  Again, this is a great trend!

The Seattle Times gave a very positive picture of the entire King County real estate market, which includes Seattle and the eastside cities of Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Woodinville, and more.  Glenn Crellin of UW's Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies said:

But for now, he added, the local market looks healthy. Rising prices are giving more formerly "underwater" homeowners — who once owed lenders more than their homes were worth — equity in their houses again, he said.

How did this past August compare to August of 2011?

• 38% of the available homes sold this past August,  20% sold in August, 2011.
• Homes sold in 63 days, which is down from 85 days in August, 2011.  Homes are selling more quickly.
• Last year median pricing in August was at $506,000.  This year, median pricing was $520,000.
• Homes sold within 4% of the original asking price.  Last year homes sold within 7% of the asking price.

Is the Seattle eastside market strong?  Yes, particularly compared to last year when there were almost 1000 more homes for sale!  Add that to the fact that almost 1/3 more homes sold this past August than in 2011!

How does all this information impact you, if you're a seller?

Know how quickly homes in your area are selling.  If your home is on the market for longer than the competition, there's a good chance your home is overpriced. 

We recently spoke with a seller and told him the last few homes in his area in his price range sold in 2, 5, and 11 days.  If his home is on the market for about 10-12 days with no offers, then his home will be overpriced for the market.  Pricing a home correctly is the most important thing you can do as a seller.  The next most important thing to do is hire someone who will guarantee you"ll have professional photography.  Your home will have about 3 seconds to grab a buyer's attention on the internet, so make that 3 seconds work for you.  If your home has lousy photos, you could potentially lose a good buyer.  Make sure your home is decluttered, staged with your own furniture and good staging advice or with staged with the stager's furniture.  As a seller, you're painting a picture for the buyer of how "cool" and wonderful it would be to live in your home, so set the stage, literally!

How does this information impact you as a buyer?

There is enough turnover in the supply each month for buyers to learn what values are in the marketplace.  Find out what's available in your price range in your areas so you'll be prepared when the right home comes up.  In some areas, multiple offers are the norm.  In others, there may be some flexibility in the price.  But if it is a well priced home that shows beautifully, expect it to sell quickly and for close to, if not, full price. 

If you'd like more information specific to your home, don't hesitate to contact us.

The Seattle media had screaming headlines recently about the 7% increase in King County real estate prices this July when compared to last July.  Were the newspaper headlines right? As I've mentioned before, yes and no.

What did the media get correct when they said prices had gone up from July, 2011 to 2012?

They were only comparing the sales from July, 2011 to July, 2012.  The median price was based on the sales that happened only in those two months.   This could mean more expensive homes sold in 2012 than in 2011 or it could mean prices were higher.  It is hard to know based on this one month.    A snapshot of one month's real estate sales does not make a trend.  It only shows how sales compared for those two months, so the Seattle Times was correct in stating the prices had gone up in from July, 2011 to 2012 by 7%.  However, this is not the full picture.

How can you more accurately tell if real estate prices are going up, down or staying the same?

It's important to look at a pattern for a period of time, such as you can see in the chart above. 

What does the chart show?

The chart is a compilation of all the home sales on the eastside, including such cities as Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Woodinville, Sammamish, Issaquah and more. The NWMLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Areas) for these eastside cities are represented by area numbers 500-600 displayed at the top of the chart.

Windermere Real Estate compiled the data from each month and developed this chart to show median pricing for the past 5 years.  If you look at the bottom of the chart, you'll see the years 2008-2012.  Each blue bar above the years represents a month during each of the years.  The red line going across the chart shows the median price point for each year.  It was highest in 2008, when the median pricing for the year stood at $623,733 and had gone down consistently through the end of 2011, when the median pricing for the eastside stood at $502,784.

This year the chart shows the median pricing is creeping up, but here on the eastside and in other parts of King County, it's not up by 7%, but by about 3% so far for the year.  The median for this year is at $518,309.

This is a much more accurate picture of real estate values on the eastside, not just a measure of one month's sales.  Are you seeing similar trends in your area?

If you have questions about the value of your home, please feel free to contact us and we can take a closer look at the data for your home.

Red is busting out all over the map of Seattle Real Estate Sales!  Red means it’s a sellers market in which homes, on average, are selling in less than 3 months!  The numbers are really strong in all of the eastside cities, but top sales go to the 80% sales rate in Redmond and East Bellevue near Microsoft last month!  Incredible odds!  In every other area on the eastside over 40% of the homes sold.

Closed sales, the sales in which the new buyer now owns the house, are showing lower sales numbers because the homes that closed in March actually got offers in January or February.  Expect the number of sales for each of the coming months to jump   higher because March home sales will be closing in April and May..  Market time will continue to decrease as this faster sales market continues.

Pricing has still been dropping as you can see below, but should become more stable as the prices from these March sales becomes public. Some areas actually showed an increase in pricing, but remember, it is a representation of the sales that sold in March only.

Multiple offers, a shortage of homes, a huge percentage of homes selling in a short amount of time are all  the buzz words for the Seattle eastside real estate market.

The cities below are reported together to follow our MLS areas (multiple listing service) information.

1. Redmond/East Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 80%

Median sales price decreased from $476,000 to $427,000 (y-o-y)**

95 homes were for sale

A total of 76 homes sold

Days on the market: 135

2. Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 57%

Median sales price decreased from $570,000 to $469,000

137 homes were for sale

A total of 53 homes sold

Days on Market:  83

3. West Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 46%.

Median sales price increased from $888,000 to $1,000,000

117 homes were for sale

A total of 54 homes sold

Days on Market: 70

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

The odds of selling a home were 44%

Median sales price decreased from $505,000 to $462,000

There were 436 homes for sale

A total of 193 homes sold

Days on the market: 127

4. (tie)  South Bellevue/Issaquah

The odds of selling a home were 44%

Median price increased from $510,000 to $560,000

225 homes were for sale

A total of 98 homes sold

Days on market: 99

5. Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation

The odds of selling a home were 43%

Median sales price increased from $411,000 to $472,000

193 homes were for sale

A total of 83 homes sold

Days on Market: 100

6. Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 42%

Median sales price decreased from $423,000 to $369,000

365 homes were for sale

A total of 151 homes sold

Days on Market: 100

If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact either Brooks or me.

*(The odds of selling a home in each area is a result of the number of homes for sale divided by the actual number of home sales, so if 10 out of 100 homes sold, the odds of selling would be 10/100 or 10%)

** (y-o-y)  median pricing is comparing year over year numbers.

 
I thought we were finally past the negative headlines in Seattle real estate, but apparently not. Both The Seattle Times and the PI had articles about the decline in prices. The articles take a look at the latest Case-Shiller Index for January, 2012, which shows closings for December of 2011.  The offers for the homes sold in December, 2011 were written a couple of months earlier than December, so the latest Case-Shiller report examines data that is 3-5 months old. The focus in these articles is the decline in real estate prices.  There was a small decline in Seattle area real estate prices from January, 2011  to January, 2012.

Is this an accurate picture of today’s local real estate?

Besides the fact that the Case-Shiller report is examining older data, we have to remember to look at pricing over a 3-6 month period to see a real trend and in a very local real estate market.  When you examine trends in a more localized area, you see true numbers.  The numbers that affect you.  Case-Shiller examines 20 metropolitan areas, including the Seattle area.  However, this includes not only Seattle, but the surrounding counties:  Snohomish, Pierce, and King.  The  counties are very different real estate animals. Aubrey Cohen said in the PI:

Pierce and Snohomish counties are weaker than King County, dragging down statistics for the metro area.

Within counties, real estate markets are different.  In King County, the south is very different from the east. In East King County, in such cities such as Bellevue and Redmond or Sammamish, there are differences.  Looking at the Seattle and the surrounding counties does not give the true picture of what is happening in Kirkland, Woodinville or Duvall.  Case-Shiller does not tell the local story , the local real estate story that affects you and your home.

What’s really happening with real estate on Seattle’s eastside?

As March comes to a close, we’re in a “hot” market in Seattle and on the eastside in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Issaquah. etc.  This week in all of King County, there are 6,802 properties for sale.  Last year at this time, 10,772 properties were for sale.  The eastside is a reflection of these numbers.  There is a small supply of available properties.  Every day the NWMLS, Northwest Multiple Listing Service, tallies up the number of new listings and sales.  On most days, pending sales outpace new listings by about one-third. Many homes are receiving multiple offers, which means their prices are, more often than,  not remaining stable.  There’s too much demand for housing and not enough houses for sale.

The reality is prices will not go up by much, but they also will not go down on the eastside in most areas with this lack of supply and high demand for homes.  Let’s not go back to the past. Let’s focus on the present as much as we can.  The Eastside real estate market is hot!

That should be the headline for today’s real estate news.

The February Real Estate Map shows a strong sellers market.

Multiple offers, low supply of homes, a huge percentage of homes selling in a short amount of time, all are happening in the eastside communities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Woodinville, and Bothell.  This is an exciting trend that we expect will continue as long as people feel good about the economy, Seattle companies are hiring and there is this shortage of homes for sale. The national press is jumping on the bandwagon and reporting the uptick in the real estate market.  However, I believe this is not happening everywhere. We are among the fortunate areas in the country that are experiencing this positive real estate market.

Almost half of all the homes for sale in Kirkland and Redmond sold this past month! That’s astonishing odds. The cities below are grouped together to follow our MLS areas (multiple listing service).  This is how our statistics are reported.

1. Redmond/East Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 49%

Median sales price decreased from $435,000 to $400,000 (y-o-y)**

113 homes were for sale

A total of 35 homes sold

Days on the market: 84

2. Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 48%

Median sales price decreased from $457,000 to $442,000

140 homes were for sale

A total of 38 homes sold

Days on Market:  98

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

The odds of selling a home were 40%

Median sales price decreased from $514,000 to $442,000

There were 428 homes for sale

A total of 100 homes sold

Days on the market: 121

4.  South Bellevue/Issaquah

The odds of selling a home were 33%

Median price decreased from $580,000 to $525,000

239 homes were for sale

A total of 43 homes sold

Days on market: 118

5. Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 32%

Median sales price decreased from $366,000 to $360,000

368 homes were for sale

A total of 105 homes sold

Days on Market: 115

6. West Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 20%.

Median sales price increased from $840,000 to $960,000

123 homes were for sale

A total of 15 homes sold

Days on Market: 133

7.  Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation

The odds of selling a home were 4%

Median sales price increased from $382,000 to $515,000

205 homes were for sale

A total of 29 homes sold

Days on Market: 152

If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact either Brooks or me.