The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in June 2009ranged 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.
(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)
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.
A rebound in Seattle real estate? Yes, but not just yet, and it will probably be a small rebound, IMHO. Both Yahoo, via the Plugged in Finance blog and Businessweek had articles projecting a faster return to a more positive real estate market for Seattle than for many other parts of the country. Seattle ended up on the top 10 real estate rebound lists on both Yahoo and Businessweek.
Why a rebound in Seattle? Seattle’s chances are among the best in the country and for the same reasons the Seattle/Eastside area was so strong for most of the last two decades. It’s our economy and our geography.
First, the geography. (Bear with me for this brief geography lesson. This brings me back to my roots as a social studies teacher who loves geography.) If you click on the “view larger version” of the map below, you’ll notice a lot of empty space east of Monroe down to Fall City. This is where the foothills of the Cascade Mountain range begins. It looks like there’’s lots of open space out there, and there is, but it gets pretty steep!
Couple this with strict land use regulations, protecting salmon streams as an example, and even less land is available for development. It’s double-edged sword. We need to maintain a healthy balance between people and nature, to maintain our wildlife, our trees, and our quality of life. But the natural elements of the Seattle area, Puget Sound, Lake Washington, and the Cascade Mountains do provide a challenge to our growth. Less land to develop=higher prices , but it won’t happen for a few years and increases should still be modest.
The economy in the Seattle area is hurting like the rest of the country. But there’’s a strong economic base that will re-emerge as things start to turn around. The old stand-bys, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Boeing are struggling now, but should bounce back.
Builders are NOT buying land right now. Over the years, builders would have huge amounts of land tied up for future building. This is no longer the case. It can take a couple of years to develop a site and to start building homes. With less land available for building and less land owned by builders and ready to be built out, existing homes will be more in demand in the future.
The year 2012 seems like a long way off, but we’re halfway through 2009. It’s around a really long corner and but it’s not going to be an easy “walk” to get there.
This past Saturday, I showed a home I had listed on Finn Hill, which is in Kirkland. The showing went well, the people were great, and I was done showing by 10:40 in the morning. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, the kind you wish you could bottle and keep in Seattle year round.
Since it was so beautiful, it was fun to be out driving around on such a gorgeous day. I noticed a sign that said “plant sale” taped to a stop sign. I decided to follow the “plant sale” sign. The sign led me further north on Finn Hill to the next town, Kenmore. When I found the house with the sale, I expected to find a few plants, but nothing like what was there. Behind a wooden fence, is a huge garden, with a huge nursery on about two acres! Who would have thought! I found “Taking Root,” the fabulous garden and nursery created by Kathy Norsworthy.
Beautiful Plants from Kenmore's Taking Root
Photo from Kathy Norsworthy of "Taking Root"
There’s a huge variety of plants, over 300. Everything you could ever think of was there. Plants for sun, plants for shade, veggies, sedums, perennials, annuals, shrubs, and more than 49 varieties of hostas. Every time I asked about a particular plant, Kathy found several for me. Her mission is “helping to grow beautiful gardens, one at a time.” Many of the plants were just $5.00. So all you gardeners looking for some great plants should get in touch with Kathy. Kathy’s email address is knowsbetter1@comcast.net. Contact her as she is only open certain days. This week she is open today, July 2nd and tomorrow, July 3rd from 9 to 5 PM.
After stopping at “Taking Root”, I wandered down Juanita Drive and stopped at a stand to buy some bing cherries.
Selling Bing Cherries
It’s cherry season in Washington State and this is a recording breaking season for the bing cherry crop. Summer is the time for fresh bing cherries from Yakima Valley, which is just over the Cascade Mountains from Seattle. So take advantage of this season’s bounty. We are so lucky to have such wonderful plants and fruit available to us in the Northwest.
Sometimes you find the most interesting things when you least expect it.
Popular Price Ranges for May's Home Sales on Seattle's eastside
The sales prices for homes on Seattle’s Eastside is similar to the popular price ranges for home sales early this year, as shown by the chart below. The total number of sold homes varies by just a few percent from winter, 2009 to May, 2009. In May, 89% of home sales on the eastside were priced under $1,000,000, 79% under $750,000 and 49%, almost half, were under $500,000. So if your home is priced under $500,000, is a resale, and is vacant, you’ve got the best chance of selling. ( numbers at the bottom of the chart were rounded off, hence the discrepancy in the actual total numbers. All numbers were compiled by Windermere Real Estate from Northwest Multiple Listing data)
the most popular price ranges for homes sales on Seattle’s eastside, winter, 2009
Seattle-Eastside Condo Real Estate Statistics, May 2009
(pended means the number of condos that got offers this month)
(The absorption rate, the percentage of condos selling, is the number of condos for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of condos sold that month. So if the absorption rate or chance of selling is 10% that means out of 100 condos for sale, 10 received offers and sold.)
1441 condos for sale 177 condos sold 12% chance of selling.
May represented the highest number of condo sales on Seattle’s eastside since June, 2008. The number of condos for sale increased dramatically this month, with the addition of 126 more condos for sale, whereas only 15 more condos sold in May than in April. There was a much bigger jump in the condos for sale than in the number of condos that sold.
Real estate activity, in general, is picking up. It will be interesting to watch how the fluctuating interest rates affect the sales of condos on Seattle’s eastside and in the real estate market overall. We have to remember that rates are still wonderfully low, even if they go up.
I’m having a bad real estate day because of an appraisal and I was just about to rip my hair out until I read Kris Berg’s excellent piece which did make me laugh about the “fun” we are having with appraisals these days. Kris has a great way of getting serious issues across to her readers, but with a light touch. The HVCC, The Home Evaluation Code of Conduct, is not a humorous situation for consumers and the real estate industry, but it’s probably better for me to laugh a little, since I really want to scream.
As of May 1st, the appraisal industry had to meet new Freddie Mac guidelines called The Home Evaluation Code of Conduct, subtitled “Enhancing The Independence of Appraisers“.The debate about the new home valuation code of conduct has been going on since it was first announced last year and is going on to this day. Before the financial meltdown, there were appraisers who needed to be run out of the appraisal business for appraising properties for exorbitant prices, but the reality is there is now a new set of problems created by these new appraisal guidelines. The appraisals or home valuation system has not been fixed, it just has new problems. In today’s real estate world, a request for an appraisal is sent to an independent clearing house and the next appraiser on the list is selected to do the job. This system has been designed to “enhance the independence of appraisers,” as mentioned above.
Now that this “new and improved system” has been in place for just over 30 days, I’ve had the good fortune to see how it works in reality. Take the latest appraisals I’ve had on two of my recent sales. For those of you in the Seattle area, you’ll understand how far flung the different areas are that each appraiser had to drive to in order to complete assigned appraisals. Appraiser #1 scheduled his appraisal late in the day for a home I’d sold in Redmond, Washington. He had to come late in the day, because he was coming from an appraisal on Vashon Island. Vashon Island, the last time I looked, is southwest of Seattle proper in Puget Sound, while Redmond is located east of Seattle across Lake Washington from downtown. Between ferries, bridges, and highway travel, the appraiser may have to travel 1 1/2 hours (on a good day) between these two appraisal appointments. Appraiser #2 called to appraise a listing of mine in Kirkland, Washington, again on the eastside of Seattle. This appraiser was coming from an appointment in Maple Valley, which is a city much further south and east of Seattle.
This map shows the location of the places the two appraisers had to go to do their job. If you click on “view larger map”, you’ll be able to see the location of these cities. Oh, I forgot, Vashon Island, which is in a different county, doesn’t show up on the map because it’s so much farther south of the Seattle! If you look for Maple Valley that, too, does not show up on this map. Maple Valley happens to be south of Issaquah.
Silly me, when I have a client who wants to look for a home on Vashon Island, I refer the client to a Realtor who knows the island. The same goes for Maple Valley. I could show homes in all of the far flung regions of Seattle/KIng County, but I don’t, because it’s a disservice to my clients. I don’t know about the different school systems and how they affect the value of the homes in each of the cities, counties or islands in the area. I don’t know about the different builders in the area, the different neighborhoods, the shops, parks, etc, etc. Don’t appraisers need that same knowledge to evaluate properties? How can appraisers know all of these areas well and give an accurate appraisal for a home? It’s a problem happening all over the country right now.
The second problem I’ve seen come up with appraisals is a little box checked by the appraiser. As part of the appraisal report, the bank wants to know if the real estate market is appreciating, remaining stable or declining. Recently, two appraisers have checked the box labeling the Seattle/Eastside market as “declining.” What a shock, this is a market where home prices have gone down! I wonder who or where appraisers are checking anything but “declining” in that box. In each case, because of this checked box, the underwriter required a second appraisal.
The lending/appraisal industry was far from perfect before, but these “improvements have and are wreaking havoc with home prices and the entire loan process. If appraisers are not really familiar with a city or neighborhood, there is no way that the majority of appraisals will be accurate. This could hurt consumers, both home buyers and home sellers, if properties are not accurately evaluated. The appraisal process needs an industry watch dog and stricter guidelines, but having the appraiser who’s next in line complete an appraisal in an area he/she knows nothing about dilutes the whole appraisal process. It’s a sad state of events for real estate. I’m hoping the government will see the light and make reasonable changes to this system in the near future.
What problems have you seen since the change in real estate appraisals? My guess is the examples above are only the tip of the iceberg.
Denise Stephens from Hope-link asked that I post this press release because Hope-link is in need of more volunteers:
Prospective volunteers can learn more at orientation in Bellevue, Bothell, Redmond or Carnation. Bellevue, Wash. – Hopelink, a 38-year-old nonprofit agency helping families, senior citizens and people with disabilities in east and north King County, needs more volunteers at its centers in Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, Bothell and Carnation. Hopelink relies upon volunteers for such jobs as sorting food in its food banks, helping adults learn to read or do basic math or study for the GED exams, delivering food to homebound clients, or answering phones and helping with administrative tasks. In April alone, more than 700 volunteers donated over 6,000 hours to help Hopelink programs and clients.
Hopelink continues to need new volunteers over age 16 and volunteers between the ages of 12 and 16 with parent/guardian supervision. We welcome anyone interested to an orientation meeting to learn more about Hopelink and its many volunteer opportunities. Space is limited and orientation sessions start promptly, so please arrive early. • Wednesday, June 3, 2009, at Hopelink’s Bellevue center in the Learning Center conference room, 14812 Main St., in Bellevue. (Note: this is a new location for the Bellevue orientations.) Parking is limited on site.
Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@hope-link.org for information about off site parking options. This location is served by Metro routes 221 and 247. An afternoon orientation will start promptly at 1:00 p.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. An evening orientation will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. • Thursday, June 4, 2009, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at Hopelink’s Bothell center, 18220 96th Ave. NE in Bothell. • Tuesday, June 9, 2009, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Hopelink’s Redmond center. The orientation will be held in the Rainier Room conference room of the Family Resource Center complex (where Hopelink is located), Building A, 16225 NE 87th St., in Redmond. The Redmond volunteer orientation is a new addition to the schedule. • Wednesday, June 10, 2009, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at Hopelink’s Carnation center, 31957 Commercial Street in Carnation.
For more information, go to www.hope-link.org/takeaction/volunteer. For information on how young people between middle school and high school age can help Hopelink, please visit http://youthlink.hope-link.org/ Since 1971, Hopelink has helped homeless and low income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities make lasting change in their lives. Hopelink promotes self-sufficiency by helping people meet their needs for food, shelter, homelessness prevention, family development, transportation and adult literacy. For more information on Hopelink and its services, call 425.869.6000 or visit www.hope-link.org.
The Newsweek that arrived at my door this week is different. The Newsweek of old is gone. Newsweek’s table of contents is now entitled a “New Week”. Newsweek is working hard to get it. The May 25th issue heralds the reinvention of the magazine. Jon Meachum talked about the “new’ Newsweek” online this past week:
“the first issue of a reinvented and rethought NEWSWEEK—represents our best effort to bring you original reporting, provocative (but not partisan) arguments and unique voices. We know you know what the news is. We are not pretending to be your guide through the chaos of the Information Age. If you are like us, you do not need, or want, a single such Sherpa. What we can offer you is the benefit of careful work discovering new facts and prompting unexpected thought.”
“One of those changes is in technology, and because of it young people in the news business have been able to exact a kind of inadvertent revenge. They seized on an information-delivery system that their elders initially found puzzling or unpersuasive. They created online outlets from the ground up. Now that this is where the action is, they are quite properly part of the action, not because we made room for them, but because they invented room for themselves.
Throughout the country there seems to be an understanding that this is and ought to be a time of reinvention, in the economy, in education, in the office. But no one seems eager to reinvent on an individual level. Yet never has there been a time when fresh perspective and new ideas were more necessary. The linear path, the ladder, emphasizes stability, but too often at the expense of innovation and mobility.”
Ms Quindlen is going out on top with her last “Last Word” column. I will miss her terrific insights, but as she said, look forward to seeing her work possibly elsewhere.
Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, wrote a piece on his blog entitled The Next Media Manifesto. in which he states:
“Paper isn’t dead: it’s on demand.
Collaboration rules.”
His list of suggestions for the development of a new media company is a list bloggers and traditional news media outlets should be required to read. He covers everything needed for today’s media outlets to survive and be relevant. But it’s today’s list of everything. I’m sure he’d be one of the first to agree the media, like Ms. Quindlen states, the economy, education, and the office should continually evolve and stay relevant by reinventing themselves.
Here in Seattle, The Seattle Times is looking to reinvent itself with a pilot project for hyper-local news. Recognizing the need to provide the news no longer covered regularly by The Seattle Times, it’s partnering with local blog, Kirkland Views. Rob Butcher of Kirkland Views does an excellent job with hyper-local reporting from Kirkland’s City Hall to community events. The blog has filled a niche traditional media no longer meets in the Kirkland area. The Times, recognizing the niche needed to be filled, is doing a smart thing by partnering with Kirkland Views.
The Seattle PI.com, as a web only news source, plans to cover local news more thoroughly with a combination of bloggers and web writers. (full disclosure, I write posts for the SeattlePI.com real estate professionals blog)
the new Newseek marching orders are very similar to the marching orders at SeattlePI.com. “I just think there’s not a lot of room in this universe for duplication of effort,” she said. However, she added that SeattlePI.com has staked out some beats that it intends to cover aggressively: health, education, real estate, transportation, Amazon, Microsoft, crime, courts, and local government.
When media outlets get the new dynamic of journalism, there’s more hope for the future of these media outlets, but it’s a very different future. The reinvention of news media is the collaboration between different sources and formats, such as video and social networking. But more importantly, it’s the collaboration between journalists who are paid to write and the public who wants to contribute.
The traditional media outlets must reinvent themselves, find a new niche and allow their readers to participate with an active voice to survive. Here’s wishing Newsweek, The Seattle Times, Kirkland Views, The Seattle PI.com, and Anna Quindlen thrive in our “new world.” Chris Brogan, keep sending those great ideas.
Seattle Eastside April 2009 condo real estate statistics
April, 2009 1315 condos for sale,177 sold, 13% chance of selling a condo
(The absorption rate, the percentage of condos selling, is the number of condos for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of condos sold that month. So if the absorption rate or chance of selling is 10% that means out of 100 condos for sale, 10 received offers and sold.)
(pended means the number of condos that got offers this month)
Much good news for the Seattle-Eastside condo sales during April, 2009. April represented the highest number of condo sales on Seattle’s eastside since June, 2008. Only 15 more condos were offered for sale, but 67 more sold in April than in March. I’m sure the first time home buyer credit is spurring on all the activity.
The media was hopping with news stories about the increase in April, 2009 real estate sales in the Seattle area. Local TV stations KOMO and KING5, both had reports on the more positive real estate market. The Seattle Times, Seattle PI.com, and BizJournals all had stories with the same theme.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in April 2009ranged from a low of 10% to a high of 23%, with an average 16% 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 will be 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:
April, 2009 3600 homes for sale 573 homes sold 16% chance of selling.
March, 2009 3711 homes for sale 372 homes sold 10% chance of selling.
April, 2008 4017 homes for sale 489 homes sold 12% chance of selling
(This monthly Seattle/Eastside real estate report now includes the chart above because it’s clear and easy to read. 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, including 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 the chart above. This is because the information for the charts is gathered at slightly different times. 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)
Median pricing decreased by 14% from $652,450 to $554,950.
Inventory decreased by 9% and sales decreased by 5%.
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Thoughts on the April 2009 Seattle Eastside real estate market:
Ok, everyone, take a deep breath. Things are looking up! Seattle -Eastside homes are selling. Every eastside area had a double digit absorption rate, for the first time in months.
All areas saw some very positive changes this past month. The positive changes are in bold print. Everycity had some positive change in the real estate activity. The number of homes for sale, the inventory, was down in every city, except one. The number of homes sold was up in all cities except two!
The stand-out area, which is often the case, is the area in East Bellevue and Redmond, close to Microsoft. This area’s absorption rate was the last to slow down and is the first to come back to life. Twenty-three percent of the homes for sale sold there last month.
Are real estate prices increasing on Seattle’s Eastside? No, the number of sales has increased dramatically though.
April had the most number of home sales since June of last year. In King County overall, six of the last ten weeks have had the most number of sales since July, 2007.
In some areas on Seattle’s Eastside, we are seeing a more balanced market between buyers and sellers.
Seattle Eastside March 2009 condo real estate statistics
March, 2009 1300 condos for sale, 123 sold, 9.5% chance of selling.
March, 2008 1288 condos for sale 175 sold 13.5% chance of selling.
(pended means the number of condos that got offers this month)
The good news is 36 more condos sold this past month than in February. There were, however, 105 more condos to choose from. I’m expecting more condos to come on the market per the typical spring real estate selling season. The chances of selling a condo increased slightly this month from February, as more buyers seem to have that spring time bug and are out shopping around.
Competition will remain fierce. Since there are many options in each price range, sellers will need to be realistic both in their asking price and what they’re willing to take for a final sales price. The good news is more people are buying and the realistic news is prices are not going up at this time.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in March 2009ranged from a low of 6.5 % to a high of 15%, with an average 10% 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 will be 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:
March, 2009 3711 homes for sale 372 homes sold 10% chance of selling.
March, 2008 3637 homes for sale 493 homes sold 13% chance of selling
I’ve changed the format of this monthly Seattle/Eastside real estate report to include the trendgraphix chart above. This chart is clear and easy to read, so you can get the real estate data quickly. For those of you who want to get more detail, you can still read the MLS charts by clicking on each area below. The charts have some of the same information, but also show the real estate trend for the last 5 years, the median pricing, and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales are up or down. If you look at the charts by area, you will notice the total number of homes for sale and the number of homes sold can vary slightly from the trendgraphix chart above to the MLS-Windermere graphs. Some of this may be a result of when the information for the charts are gathered . Regardless of the exact numbers, it’s clear the charts show the same trends, which is the most important piece of information.)
(click on each area name for a chart showing the latest stats in the area)
Sellers had an 8% chance of getting a home sold, THE SAME as last month and DOWN from 14.5% last year. Median home prices were DOWN from $579,500 to $513,025. Inventory was down by 6% and sales were down by 35% from last year.
Sellers had a 15% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 10% last month, and DOWN from 19% last year. Median sales price decreased from $539,000 to $499,000, a decrease of 8%. Inventory was up 4% and sales were down 24%.
Sellers had an 11% chance of getting a home sold, UP from7% last month and DOWN from 12% last year. Median price decreased by 21% from $659,900 to $519,900. Inventory was up 1% and sales were down 7%.
Sellers had a 10% chance of selling a home, last month and DOWN from 12% last year. Median price was down to $450,000 from $525,000, a 14% decrease. Inventory was up by 4% from last year and sales were down by 16%.
Sellers had 6.5% chance of selling a home, DOWN from12% last month and DOWN from 9% last year. Median price decreased by29%, from $699,999 to $499,000. Inventory was up by 4% and sales were down by 33%.
Sellers had a 9% chance of selling a home, The SAME as last month, and UP from 5% last year. Median pricing decreased by 5% from $1,250,000 to $1,185,000. Inventory increased by 1 % and sales increased by 57%.
Sellers had a 11% chance of selling a home, UP from 10% from last month, and DOWN from 15% last year. Median pricing decreased by 20% from $600,000 to $481,975. Inventory increased by .3% and sales increased by 29%.
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Thoughts on the March 2009 Seattle Eastside real estate market:
Most of the real estate sales activity is happening below the $750,000 range. Out of the 247 sales on the eastside in March, 210, or 85%, were below $750,000.
Forty-eight percent of the sales were below $500,000.
The chances of selling a home on the eastside increased from February to March in all areas except Kirkland.
More homes are selling as the number of sales in just the first week in April increased by 37% more than most of the past 6 weeks.
Both West Bellevue and Redmond, north of downtown, had an increase in the number of sales from last year to this year.
Redmond, north of downtown, had a more balanced real estate market last month than any other area on the eastside. With the number of home sales increasing by 29%, the sales activity represented a more balanced market.
Other eastside areas are still more of a seller’s market.
More sales are beginning to happen, but prices are not going up.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in February 2009ranged from a low of 7 % to a high of 10%, with an average 9% 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 will be 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:
February 2009 3556 homes available 308 homes sold 9% chance of selling.
January 2009 3294 homes available 325 homes sold 10% chance of selling.
February 2008 3303 homes available 453 homes sold 14% chance of selling.
Seattle/Eastside real estate Feb-2009
(chart includes Mercer Island homes, which are not included in my numbers above the chart)
Sellers had an 8% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 11% last month and DOWN from 16.5% last year. Median home prices were DOWN from $599,950 to $522,250. Inventory was down by 5% and sales were down by 52% from last year.
Sellers had a 10% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 11% last month, and DOWN from 16% last year. Median sales price decreased from $599,000 to $457,475, a decrease of 24%. Inventory was up 10% and sales were down 27%.
Sellers had an 7% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from11% last month and UP from 8% last year. Median price decreased by 12% from $659,000 to $579,950. Inventory was up 2% and sales were down 49%.
Sellers had a 10% chance of selling a home, THE SAME as last month and DOWN from 12% last year. Median price was down to $381,450 from $549,950, a 30% decrease. Inventory was up by 16% from last year and sales were down by 6%.
Sellers had 8% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 11% last month and DOWN from 12.5% last year. Median price decreased by 3%, to $687,000 from $711,250. Inventory was up by 1% and sales were down by 38.5%.
Sellers had a 9% chance of selling a home, UP from 7% last month, and the same as last year. Median pricing increased by $1000 from $999,000 to $1,000,000. Inventory increased by 26 % and sales increased by 19%.
Sellers had a 10% chance of selling a home, UP from 9% from last month, and DOWN from 16% last year. Median pricing decreased by 21% from $694,970 to $542,900. Inventory increased by 18.5% and sales decreased by 24%.
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Thoughts on February’s real estate market:
Most eastside neighborhoods experienced a decline in sales and an increase in the number of homes for sale. The only exception was West Bellevue. More homes sold in West Bellevue in February this year than last year and the median price was up by just a hair.
Similar to last month all eastside areas, except the plateau area of Sammamish, Snoqualmie, Fall City, Issaquah, and North Bend, had an increase in the number of homes for sale when compared to last year. There were 40 less homes available to buy on the plateau this February than last. On the eastside, the plateau is the only area that had fewer homes for sale.
The number of homes for sale is up this week. The total number of properties ( single family homes and condos) for sale in King County increased to 13,038 on March 9th. Expect more homes to come on the market over the next couple of months.
Home prices are clearly shifting. For the first time in years more homes sold in the $350-500,000 range than in the $500-750,000 range.
This past month there were more home sales happening below the $500,000 mark. Seventy one homes sold in the $350-500,000 range, while 63 sold between $500-750,000. There were also 37 home sales below $350,000. Two years ago, it was impossible to find homes in this price range.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in January 2009ranged from a low of 7% to a high of 11%, with an average 10% 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 will be 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:
January 2009 3294 home available 325 homes sold 10% chance of selling.
December 2008 3169 homes available 243 homes sold, 8% chance of selling.
January 2008 2963 homes available 346 homes sold, 12% chance of selling.
Sellers had 11 % chance of getting a home sold, the same as last month and DOWN from13 % last year. Median home prices were DOWN, from $619,900 to $535,000. Inventory was down by 4% and sales were down by 24% from last year.
Sellers had a 11% chance of getting a home sold, the same as last month, and DOWN from 15% last year. Median sales price decreased from $567,250 to $480,000, a decrease of 15%. Inventory was up 20% and sales were down 14%.
Sellers had an 11% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 6% last month and UP from 8% last year. Median price decreased by 11% from $630,000 to $559,900. Inventory was up 1% and sales were down 58%.
Sellers had a 10% chance of selling a home, UP from 7% last month and DOWN from 14% last year. Median price was down to $438,200 from $459,950, a 5% decrease. Inventory was up by 27% from last year and sales were down by 9%.
Sellers had a 11% chance of selling a home, UP from 6% last month and UP from 10% last year. Median price decreased by 21%, to $521,440 from $652,250. Inventory was up by 2% and sales were down by 10.5%.
Sellers had a 7% chance of selling a home, UP from 3% last month, and the same as last year. Median pricing decreased by 10% to $937,500 from $1,027,500. Inventory increased by 43 % and sales decreased by 43%.
Sellers had a 9% chance of selling a home, UP from 7% from last month, and DOWN from 12% last year. Median pricing decreased by 27% from $664,925 to $484,950. Inventory increased by 17% and sales decreased by 13%.
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Some thoughts on January’s real estate market:
No big surprise again, all eastside areas experienced a reduction in both pricing and sales.
Most eastside neighborhoods had similar chances of having a home sell in January.
All areas, except the plateau area of Sammamish, Snoqualmie, Fall City, Issaquah, and North Bend, had an increase in the number of homes for sale when compared to last year. There were fewer homes available to buy on the plateau this January than last, about 30 less homes
The chances of selling in the core neighborhoods of Kirkland, area 560, was actually a little better than last year, but only by 1%. The same thing is true for (area 500), South Bellevue and parts of Issaquah. Sellers had a 4% greater chance of getting their home sold this January than last.
The number of homes for sale on the eastside is creeping up slightly. As of February 16th, there are 12,678 homes available, whereas 2009 started with 11,363 homes for sale. This is the typical pattern each year. As spring progresses, more people think about moving. I anticipate more homes coming on the market in the next few months. If you’re thinking of moving, your chances of getting your home sold are far better with less competition now, so it’s best not to wait. Those of you who are thinking of waiting until school is over, should be thinking about putting your home on the market in March or April, so you can get moved in the summer. If you wait until school is over, then you may not have your home sold and your move complete by the time the next school year starts.
As I’ve been saying for the past year, this is a market for realistic sellers. If you want to make a move, be prepared to have your home in show condition and priced right. If you’re planning a move into a new home, since it clearly is a buyer’s market, you can negotiate in your favor then. Homes are selling, as you see above, but it usually is the homes that are the best value that get sold.
Contact a Realtor well before you want to sell to make sure you’ll be ready when you do want to sell. As always, if the market or your situation means it’s best for you to stay put, then that’s what you should do.
Sellers had a 12% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in October, 2008. ( click on 2008 year to date statistics in the link above for a chart showing the condo report)
October, 2008 1324 condos for sale, 153 condos sold, 12% chance of selling.
September, 2008 1414 condos for sale, 173 condos sold, 12% chance of selling.
October, 2007 1121 condos for sale, 202 condos sold, 18 % chance of selling.
The number of condos/ town homes for sale on the Eastside is dropping from its summer high. The chance of selling a condo, however, has remained pretty constant throughout the year with 12-13% of the available condos selling each month.
Median pricing was down this month by about 13%, dropping from $345,416 to $300,215. Inventory is up by 18% from last October and sales have dropped by 24%.
I’ve seen some great condos sell and all of the ones that have sold were well priced and showed well, the key to success in this market. Sellers must be ahead of the curve in pricing or they stay among the pack of available condos.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in October 2008ranged from a low of 6% to a high of 11%, with an average 8% 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 will be 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:
October 2008 3975 homes available, 320 sold, 8% chance of selling.
September 2008 4117 homes available, 513 sold, 12% chance of selling.
October 2007 3398 homes available, 461 sold, 14% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 9 % chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 14% last month and DOWN from 17% last year. Median home prices were essentially the same, from $559,000 to $559,194. Inventory was up by 13% and sales were down by 40% from last year.
Sellers had a 11% chance of getting a home sold, the SAME as last month, and DOWN from 14 % last year. Median sales price decreased from $609,950 to $484,725, a decrease of 20.5%. Inventory was up 13% and sales were down 10%.
Sellers had an 8% chance of getting a home sold, the same as last month, and DOWN from 12% last year. Median price decreased by 14% to $569,900 from $664,950. Inventory was up 5% and sales were down 32%.
Sellers had a 9% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 12% last month and DOWN from 13% last year. Median price was down to $533,925 from $549,250, a 3% decrease. Inventory was up by 17.5% from last year and sales were down by 17%.
Sellers had a 6% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 9% last month and DOWN from 11% last year. Median price increased by 8%, to $709,475 from $657,475. Inventory was up by 17% and sales were up down by 41%.
Sellers had a 6% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 8% last month, and DOWN from 10% last year. Median pricing decreased by 6% to $1,399,000 from $1,492,000. Inventory increased by 45.5% and sales decreased by 9%.
Sellers had a 7% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 17% from last month, and DOWN from 16% last year. Median pricing decreased by 21% (oops, typo of 421% before!) from $599,475 to $472,425. Inventory increased by 24% and sales decreased by 44%.
October has been the toughest month to get a home sold on the eastside so far this year. This is not a big surprise, given the volatility of the economy, the bailout, and the pre-election jitters. Most neighborhoods saw the chances of selling drop to the single digits, with the exception being the East Bellevue and Redmond area around Microsoft. Eleven percent of the homes for sale in that area received offers last month, while it was toughest to get a home sold in Kirkland as only 6% of the homes sold.
Every area on the eastside experienced a decline in the number of sales when compared to October of last year. Ironically, most of this September’s sales were higher than September of last year. The number of homes for sale on the Eastside has dropped back below 4000 homes for the first time this year.
Median prices have dropped back, in many cases, to 2006 levels. In some areas, such as East Bellevue and Redmond around Microsoft, the median price has dropped below $500,000 for the first time since the beginning of 2006. Even though the number of sales are down, the median price continues to jump up or down. In Kirkland, the toughest area for a sale last month, prices went up almost 8%, while in Sammamish, sales were down, but prices remained stable. As I’ve mentioned in the past, it’s important to look at trends in each area over a few months. Prices and sales go up and down in each area and there isn’t always a correlation between the two.
Will things continue to drop or will they stabilize? Having the election behind us and giving the country a more optimistic focus than we have seen in a long time, it will be interesting to follow. It take a few months after the election before we see any changes.
But if you follow Forbes magazine, Seattle is looked at as the number one city to bounce back.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in September 2008ranged from a low of 8% to a high of 17.5%, with an average 12% 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 will be rounded off to the nearest whole number, unless the number is exactly .5% between two numbers. (Revised numbers)
Here are the real estate statistics for single family home sales activity on Seattle’s Eastside:
September 2008 4117 homes available, 513 sold, 12% chance of selling.
August 2008 4240 homes available, 503 sold, 12% chance of selling.
July 2008 4332 homes available, 543 sold, 12.5% chance of selling.
September 2007 3529 homes available, 443 sold, 12% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 14% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 13% last month and DOWN from 15% last year. Median home prices were down by 14%, from $602,500 to $519,000. Inventory was up by 10% and sales up by 1.5% from last year.
Sellers had a 17.5% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 19% last month, and DOWN from 19 % last year. Median sales price decreased from $575,000 to $550,000, a decrease of 5%. Inventory was up 24% and sales were up 16%.
Sellers had a 11% chance of selling a home, THE SAME as last month and UP from 10% last year. Median price decreased by 5% to $594,500 from $627,250. Inventory was up 7% and sales were up 19%.
Sellers had a 12% chance of selling a home, UP from 11% last month and DOWN from 13% last year. Median price was down to $459,950 from $495,000, a 7% decrease. Inventory was up by 19% from last year and sales were up by 15%.
Sellers had a 9% chance of selling a home, THE SAME as last month and DOWN from 12.5% last year. Median price increased by 2%, to $695,000 from $679,975. Inventory was up by 20% and sales were up by 17%.
Sellers had a 8% chance of selling a home, UP from 6% last month, and THE SAME as last year. Median pricing decreased by 15% to $1,314,000 from $1,550,000. Inventory increased by 49.5% and sales increased by 53%.
Sellers had a 17% chance of selling a home, UP from 14% from last month, and UP from 11% last year. Median pricing decreased by 4.5% from $549,950 to $525,000. Inventory increased by 11% and sales increased by 58.5%!
Most eastside neighborhoods showed similar real estate activity in September as in August. The chances of selling a home hardly varied with the exception of the Redmond’s Education and Novelty Hill areas and Carnation. The area experienced a 3% increase over August activity. This area also saw the largest increase in sales from last September, 58% more homes sold.
Homes in West Bellevue had only an 8% chance of selling. However, West Bellevue had a huge increase in inventory, almost 50%, resulting in 53% more sales this year than last year at this time.
All the eastside areas dropped in median pricing, with the exception of Kirkland, which was up 2% this month.
The chances of selling a home on the eastside have not varied much in most neighborhoods over the past few months. However, in almost all neighborhoods, prices are down and inventory and sales are up.
I was curious to know how may condos were for sale on Seattle’s Eastside in this price range and if any had sold. I checked the MLS and right now there are two condos priced above $5 million, both new construction in downtown Bellevue.
The most expensive condominium home is the penthouse at Bellevue Towers. It’s priced at $9.2 million with 6397 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and 4.5 baths.
The runner-up is priced at $5.2 million and is located in The Bravern, just a few blocks away. This condominium home is 3923 square feet and has 3 bedrooms and 3. 5 baths.
How many condominiums on the Eastside are priced between $4-5 million? 2
between $3-4 million? 4
between $2-3 million? 11
between $1-2 million? 75
How many condominiums have sold in the last 6 months for more than $5 million? none
between $4-5 million? none
between $3-4 million? 3 pending
between $2-3 million? none
between $1-2 million? 29
Is the high end really above $2 million on the Eastside, not $5 million? The number of condominiums available above $2 million drops dramatically from the condos available between $1-2 million. Seventeen condos are priced above $2 million. There are 75 condos between $1-2 million and 29 are pending or closed sales. Above the $5 million range, there haven’t been any sales and only 3 condos have sold between $2-5 million in the last six months.
We all know most people cannot afford the million dollar range of homes or condos, but it looks as if there is a high end real estate market between $1-2 million and an “ultra high end” when we talk about the Seattle/Eastside condo market.
Microsoft gets it. The Seattle Times gets it. The Eastside Transportation Association gets it. Ron Simsgets it. Each one of these organizations/people are doing something about better transportation and/or voicing their opinion about transportation systems that will work in King County and on the Eastside.
Microsoft is already doing it. It has a world class shuttle/bus/car system to meet the commuting needs of its employees, cutting down on the number of single car trips and, ultimately, reducing the carbon footprint of Microsoft.
The Seattle Times has come out against the Sound Transit ballot measure. The newspaper, too, recognizes the need for better transportation. The Times doesn’t believe this ballot measure will solve our transportation problems, partly because of its exorbitant cost and, partly, because of the many years it will take to complete the light rail system without any relief to our existing transportation problems. From The Seattle Times editorial:
“Buses are cheaper than rail and more flexible. Proposition 1 slights them: The two center lanes on the Interstate 90 bridge, which now serve buses and Mercer Islanders, become rail-only. Buses are kicked out. Buses will also be kicked out of Seattle’s downtown transit tunnel.
Finally, it is said that Proposition 1 is not about us, but our grandchildren. So it is. It is a proposal to extend two costly rail lines and to oblige our grandchildren to pay for them. The sales tax is raised to 9.5 percent. It is a lot, and it goes on for a very long time.”
The Sound Transit plan is very long term, but does not prepare King County and the eastside for today’s commuter needs. I can’t imagine what a mess will exist on our roads for the next decade if this plan gets passed.
Sellers had a 13% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in July of 2008. ( click on 2008 year to date statistics in the link above for a chart showing the condo report)
August, 2008 1456 condos for sale, 195 condos sold, 13% chance of selling.
July, 2008 1476 condos for sale, 187 condos sold, 12.7% chance of selling.
August, 2007 1002 condos for sale, 309 condos sold, 37% chance of selling.
Throughout the summer months, the chances of selling a condo have been pretty similar with about 12-13% of the condos receiving offers and selling each month. The number of available condos is only slightly less than last month. Still, the condo prices have gone up a bit, with a 2% increase this month. Each area on the Eastside of Seattle varies, however, and in some areas the competition is very stiff and values are lower. The best of the best are selling. Those condos that are overpriced are sitting on the market and helping the other condos to sell first.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in August 2008ranged from a low of 6% to a high of 19%, with an average 12% 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 will be 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:
August 2008 4240 homes available, 503 sold, 12% chance of selling.
July 2008 4332 homes available, 543 sold, 12.5% chance of selling.
August 2007 3336 homes available, 643 sold, 19% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 13% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 12% last month and DOWN from 21% last year. Median home prices were up by 4%, from $549,250 to $572,000. Inventory was up by 19% and sales declined by 22% from last year.
Sellers had a 19% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 16% last month, and DOWN from 25 % last year. Median sales price decreased from $582,475 to $549,000, a decrease of 6%. Inventory was up 43% and sales were down 12%.
Sellers had a 11% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 14% last month and DOWN from 20% last year. Median price decreased by 8.5% to $592,475 from $647,800. Inventory was up 14% and sales were down 38%.
Sellers had a 11% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 15% last month and DOWN from 16% last year. Median price was down to $478,062 from $502,500, a 5% decrease. Inventory was up by 30% from last year and sales declined by 14%.
Sellers had a 9% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 10% last month and DOWN from 14% last year. Median price declined by 11%, from $649,950 to $585,000. Inventory was up by 29% and sales were down by 14.5%.
Sellers had a 6% chance of selling a home, UP from 5%, and DOWN from 19% last year. Median pricing decreased by 37% to $999,950 from $1,582,500. Inventory increased by 73% and sales declined by 42%.
Sellers had a 14% chance of selling a home, the same as last month, and DOWN from 26% last year. Median pricing decreased by 8% from $650,000 to $599,950. Inventory increased by 19% and sales dropped by 34.5%.
July and August’s market activity was very similar, with most neighborhoods seeing the same chances for selling in both months. However, the top area for sales on the Eastside, with the largest increase in chances from last month, was the East Bellevue/West Redmond/Microsoft area. The chances of selling your home in South Bellevue, North Kirkland, Woodinville, Kenmore, Bothell, and Duvall dropped by few percentage points. For the first time this year, West Bellevue’s median price dipped below $1,000,000. We’ve not seen median pricing in West Bellevue below $1,000,000 since 2006.
To determine the most realistic view of the market, look at several months worth of data. Pay particular attention to the amount of homes for sale in your area. Regardless of what’s happened in the previous months, make sure you know the actual competition in your area before establishing a sales price and going on the market.
Be the best home out there and your home will sell. People are still relocating, changing jobs, needing more space, reasons that still exist for making a move.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in July 2008ranged from a low of 5% to a high of 16%, with an average 12.5% 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 will be 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:
July 2008 4332 homes available, 543 sold, 12.5% chance of selling
June 2008 4154 homes available, 635 sold, 15.2 % chance of selling.
May 2008 4349 homes available, 522 sold, 12% chance of selling.
July 2007 3253 homes available, 773 sold, 23.8% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 12% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 17% last month and DOWN from 22% last year. Median home prices were up by 1%, from $569,800 to $575,000. Inventory was up by 18% and sales declined by 33.5% from last year.
Sellers had a 16% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 23% last month, and DOWN from 34% last year. Median sales price decreased from $599,000 to $574,990, a decrease of 4%. Inventory was up 70% and sales were down 20%.
Sellers had a 14% chance of selling a home, UP from 12.5% last month and DOWN from 23% last year. Median price decreased by 19% to $604,950 from $749,975. Inventory was up 24% and sales were down 24.5%.
Sellers had a 15% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 15.5% last month and DOWN from 26% last year. Median price was down to $475,000 from $550,000, a 14% decrease. Inventory was up by 35% from last year and sales declined by 23%.
Sellers had a 10% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 16.5% last month and DOWN from 22% last year. Median price declined by 25%, from $757,475 to $569,000. Inventory was up by 25% and sales were down by 38%.
Sellers had a 5% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 9.5%, and DOWN from 19% last year. Median pricing decreased by 29% to $1,354,975 from $1,748,000. Inventory increased by 85% and sales declined by 50%.
Sellers had a 14% chance of selling a home, UP (barely) from 13% last month, and DOWN from 22% last year. Median pricing decreased by 15% from $644,435 to $549,375. Inventory increased by 18% and sales dropped by 25%.
The activity for May is included at the top of this article because July’s market performance is very similar to the market performance in May. June was a stronger month for sales for most of the Eastside neighborhoods than July has been. South Bellevue, and Education Hill, Carnation, and Union Hill areas were all stronger performing areas, but only by a fraction. Every other area of the Eastside showed less of an absorption rate than in June. West Bellevue, Medina and Clyde Hill, our most expensive areas, were hit the hardest with the biggest decline in activity and pricing.
To determine the most realistic view of the market, look at several months worth of data. Pay particular attention to the amount of homes for sale in your area. Regardless of what’s happened in the previous months, make sure you know the actual competition in your area before establishing a sales price and going on the market.
Remember sellers, it’s price and condition in this market. Homes are selling, but as we all know, there’s competition. Be the best home out there and your home will sell.
Sellers had a 13.6% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in June of 2008. ( click on 2008 year to date statistics in the link above for a chart showing the condo report)
June, 2008 1427 condos for sale, 194 condos sold, 13.6% chance of selling.
May, 2008 1472 condos for sale, 211 condos sold, 14% chance of selling.
June, 2007 840 condos for sale, 382 condos sold, 45.5% chance of selling.
The absorption rate, the chance of getting your home sold, did not vary much from May to June of this year. Inventory is actually down slightly, but the chances of selling were almost the same during the past two months.
Condo values on the Eastside continue to go up, but last month the increase was negligible at only .5% from June of last year. The actual number of sales is down considerably, by almost 50%. This means the cream of the crop of condos are getting the offers and other condos are just sitting on the market. Pick your condo/town home purchase wisely.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in June 2008ranged from a low of 9.5% to a high of 23.2%, with an average 15.2% 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.)
Here are the real estate statistics for single family home sales activity on Seattle’s Eastside:
June 2008 4154 homes available, 635 sold, 15.2 % chance of selling.
May, 2008 4349 homes available, 522 sold, 12% chance of selling.
June 2007 3107 homes available, 841 sold, 27% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 16.7% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 12.7% last month and DOWN from 25.3% last year. Median home prices were down by 2.6%, from $604,475 to $589,000. Inventory was up by 17.5% and sales declined by 22.6% from last year.
Sellers had a 23.2% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 13.5% last month, and DOWN from 42.5% last year. Median sales price decreased from $624,500 to $549,500, a decrease of 12%. Inventory was up 80.4% and sales were down 1.3%.
Sellers had a 12.5% chance of selling a home, UP from 11.5% last month and DOWN from 24.9% last year. Median price decreased by 15.7% to $588,975 from $699,000. Inventory was up 25% and sales were down 37.4%.
Sellers had a 15.5% chance of selling a home, UP from 9.6% last month and DOWN from 26.8% last year. Median price was down to $498,875 from $522,475, a 4.5% decrease. Inventory was up by 37% from last year and sales declined by 20.9%.
Sellers had a 16.5% chance of selling a home, UP from 9.6% last month and DOWN from 23.5% last year. Median price declined by 4.5%, from $724,950 to $694,000. Inventory was up by 28% and sales were down by 10%.
Sellers had a 9.5% chance of selling a home, UP from 7.3%, and DOWN from 34% last year. Median pricing decreased by 13.7% to $1,294,750 from $1,500,000. Inventory climbed by 95.7% and sales declined by 45.5%.
Sellers had a 13.2% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 21.2% last month, and DOWN from 25.5% last year. Median pricing increased by 12.2% from $598,000 to $671,035. Inventory increased by 25.5% and sales dropped by 35%.
Inventory on Seattle’s Eastside dropped significantly from last month, by 195 homes, a 5% deline in inventory. All the eastside areas showed an increase in the absorption rate, the number of sales compared to the amount of homes for sale, except in the Education Hill, Union Hill, Carnation area. This area was the highest performing area last month, with the sales activity declining this month. West Redmond/East Bellevue had the best absorption rate of the Eastside once again. May was the only month this year that the area east of 405 and south of highway 908 was not the best performing area on the eastside.
To determine the most realistic view of the market, look at several months worth of data. Pay particular attention to the amount of homes for sale in your area. Regardless of what’s happened in the previous months, make sure you know the actual competition in your area before establishing a sales price and going on the market.
Remember sellers, it’s price and condition in this market. Homes are selling, but as we all know, there’s competition.
The Fip Video Camera is a really cool, easy to use tool that easily works for videos of anything, including real estate. The Seattle Times had a great article about the camera, which is inexpensive and easy to use. Remember when “easy to use cameras” first came out and the expression was, “Push here dummy” Well, the same high level of skill applies to the Flip Video Camera!
I’m beginning to experiment with YouTube videos and plan to use them a lot more in marketing neighborhoods, parks, schools, all the amenities in an area people like to see and know about when they’re buying a home.
Just for fun, this is one of the YouTubes I did of last night’s Kirkland Washington’s Fourth of July fireworks show. Enjoy!
Hold on! Could it actually be sunny on the Fourth of July? Could it be great weather to celebrate the outdoors? It could be wonderful. But now I’m hearing it could be damp and rainy. I’m heading to my 23rd Fourth of July in the Seattle area and have seen more cool and damp holidays than I care to remember. I’ve heard more than once that around Seattle, “Summer begins on July 5th.” This week, starting with this past weekend, it appears that summer has arrived in full swing. Let’s hope it stays this way for the fourth.
Here’s where you can spend your Fourth of July in the Seattle area:
If you want to travel across the lake, there are the two grandaddies of all the holiday celebrations:
Come down to Eliot Bay to view the 44th annual Ivar’s fireworks show.
Fish and Fireworks is a special opportunity to watch the fireworks show from the Aquarium, enjoy the fish and sea life, and avoid the crowds and traffic.
Seattle’s Seafair Marathon ran by yesterday from Seattle through the Eastside cities of Bellevue and Kirkland. The runners showed lots of grit, guts, sweat, humor, and appreciation. Pretty impressive, given that I was seeing this when the runners were hitting their 23rd mile and the temperature kept climbing to one of our hottest days of the year.
Volunteering to help with the race, I was responsible for directing the cars crossing the course as they headed into Houghton Beach Park along Kirkland’s Lake Washington Boulevard.
Whe the runners came, it happened really fast. Shortly after 9 AM the first three runners came by right on each others heels. The men were the Kenyans, who were the men to beat. I read later that they ran the race together like this until mile 24, when number 7, Edward Kiptum broke from the group to win the race by 33 seconds.
At 9:35, the first woman runner ran by.
The winning woman was not far behind at that point.
9:45 a steady stream of runners had crossed mile 22.
The runners/walkers were incredibly polite and appreciative. Countless people thanked me for volunteering and picking up the water cups others threw down on the ground.
One runner yelled, “You guys are brilliant.” I responded, “No, you guys are.” He shot back with “Right now, I’m not so sure it was so brilliant to sign up.”
Another runner from the Marathon Maniacs team said, “Oh, you’re taking my picture? Sorry my hair is messed up,” as he doffed his cap and showed his bald head. (Picture before he took his cap off!)
Then there were the two women with Statue of Liberty hats.
When I shouted encouragement to people, several shot back about the hill in Bellevue. I’ll never look at Bellevue Way heading south from Kirkland in quite the same way anymore!
Congratulations to all who ran, walked, and volunteered. A race well done!
The Seafair Marathon is crossing the 520 bridge with most of the route on the eastside of Seattle this year for the first time. This Sunday, the 29th, the marathon begins at 7 AM in Husky Stadium and treats the runners to fabulous views of Lake Washington as they run across the bridge to the eastside cities of Bellevue and Kirkland. The race heads as far south as Enatai and swings back up through Bellevue’s Bridle Trails to Rose Hill on over to the Kirkland Highlands, through East and West of Market, along Lake Washington Boulevard back down to the Bellevue Downtown Park and the finish line. There’s a 1/2 marathon which will cross the bridge and circle through Bellevue.
Give those Team in Training members a big cheer. These will be the runners in purple jerseys. They’re running to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and blood borne cancers. These runners have been training and raising money for the past 6 months. I participated in a 1/2 marathon for Team in Training a few years back up in Anchorage, Alaska. It was a wonderful and rewarding experience.
Expect to see world class runners coming through your neighborhood!
Sellers had a 14% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in May of 2008. ( click on 2008 year to date statistics in the link above for a chart showing the condo report)
May, 2008 1472 condos for sale, 211 condos sold, 14% chance of selling.
April, 2008 1392 condos for sale, 222 condos sold, 15.9% chance of selling.
May, 2007 761 condos for sale, 376 condos sold, 49% chance of selling.
Condo values on the Eastside continue to go up. Last month prices increased over 5% from May of last year. The actual number of sales is down considerably, which means the cream of the crop is getting the offers and the other condos are just sitting on the market. Pay attention to the competition in the area and price or buy accordingly.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in May 2008ranged from a low of 7.3% to a high of 21%, with an average 12% 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.)
Here are the real estate statistics for single family home sales activity on Seattle’s Eastside:
May 2008 4349 homes available, 522 sold, 12 % chance of selling.
April, 2008 3985 homes available, 512 sold, 12.8% chance of selling.
May 2007 2823 homes available, 871 sold, 30.9% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 12.7% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 15.4% last month and DOWN from 29.8% last year. Median home prices were up by 3.1%, from $596,450 to $614,900. Inventory was up by 36.8% and sales declined by 41.7% from last year.
Sellers had a 13.5% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 19% last month, and DOWN from 63.8% last year. Median sales price decreased from $619,000 to $559,950, a decrease of 9.5%. Inventory was up 128% and sales were down 51.5%.
Sellers had a 11.5% chance of selling a home, Up from 10.6% last month and DOWN from 29.1% last year. Median price increased by 1.5% to $699,475 from $689,075. Inventory was up 48% and sales were down 41.4%.
Sellers had a 9.6% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 12.5% last month and DOWN from 24.9% last year. Median price was down to $499,950 from $525,000, a 4.8% decrease. Inventory was up by 47% from last year and sales declined by 43.3%.
Sellers had a 9.6% chance of selling a home, UP from 8.46% last month and DOWN from 31.3% last year. Median price declined by 15.1%, from $799,950 to $679,000. Inventory was up by 55.4% and sales were down by 52.3%.
Sellers had a 7.3% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 9.03%, and DOWN from 29% last year. Median pricing decreased by 11.4% to $1,325,000 from $1,495,000. Inventory climbed by 103.2% and sales declined by 48.9%.
Sellers had a 21,2% chance of selling a home, UP from 14% last month, and DOWN from 33% last year. Median pricing decreased by .08% from $654,950 to $650,000. Inventory increased by 60.9% and sales dropped by 3.2%.
County wide, inventory is up from January’s numbers. On the eastside 2963 homes were on the market in January and now there are 4349 homes for sale, a 32% increase. The median price was up in four areas on the eastside in April, but only in two areas in May.
To determine the most realistic view of the market, look at several months worth of data. Pay particular attention to the amount of homes for sale in your area. Regardless of what’s happened in the previous months, make sure you know the actual competition in your area before establishing a sales price and going on the market.
Remember sellers, it is price and condition in this market. Homes are selling, but as we all know, there is competition.
On Monday Metropolitan King County officials and Port of Seattle Commissioners met to sign the paperwork for the complicated deal between the Port of Seattle, King County, and the BNSF railroad. The Port will buy the BNSF tracks from the railway and allow King County to keep the right of way in the public domain.
But what’s the future of the rail line? What’s the future of a trail? I’ve added links to the some of the news articles about the deal and will highlight some of the key issues raised in each article. It’s interesting to compare what’s reported in each article. The different newspapers do not see the issues in exactly the same light. This is not surprising since the issues surrounding the trail and/or rail line are still unclear and very much up in the air.
Several constants in this saga are:
The BNSF is selling the rail line to the Port for $107 million dollars.
The Port has granted King County an easement to develop a trail on 32 miles of the corridor.
Federal law requires the train line be “rail banked”, kept for possible future use as a train line. The tracks will remain in place. This will keep the line available for public use and ownership.
The port will receive $1.9 million dollars from King County for the use of an easement for a hiking/biking trail along the Renton to Woodinville stretch of the rail line and the 7 mile spur from Woodinville to Redmond.
The Everett Herald had an interesting story summarizing Monday’s inking of the deal. The Herald reflected the Snohomish County Council point of view.
“ Snohomish County wants leverage sooner and is working to keep the rails in place for commuter trains all the way to tech job centers on the east side of Lake Washington.
“We think we can have the rails and the trails,” Somers (Snohomish County Council Chairman) said.
Somers is pushing for a deal with a private company called GNP Railway to provide daily commuter trains on the route from Snohomish to Bellevue as soon as next year. The county is negotiating with the company chairman Tom Payne.
“If we can team up with Tom Payne and get status with the federal government, the port and King County have to deal with us.”
Snohomish County wants rail.
“The port isn’t interested in long-term ownership of the corridor, so questions to be worked out include who would ultimately own the corridor and run commuter rail over it, said Port Commissioner John Creighton. “We’re holding the corridor now, but if Sound Transit determines it can make use of the corridor, we would like to sell it to Sound Transit, get our money out, and invest it in our core business.”
Both The Seattle P-I and The Seattle Times weighed in with their take on the future for the rail/trail. The Seattle P-I’s article was the most comprehensive summary of the story. Here are some additional issues raised in the P-I article:
Previously, a study was done to the tune of $800,000 by The Puget Sound Regional Council. This study stated:
“In May 2007 the Puget Sound Regional Council published a study that found Sound Transit and the state Department of Transportation’s strategy of using a series of rapid buses to serve commuters was more feasible than developing high capacity rail transit along the Eastside rail corridor.”
A new survey is being conducted and will be completed by February, 2009. The cost for this study is $340,000, after $800,000 has already been spent to say the commuter line is not viable in King County! Part of the money for the study is being paid by the Discovery Institute, which has a vested interest in seeing the commuter line developed, since this very group is hoping to develop the commuter line. This second study is being conducted with funds from a source that hopes to gain from the outcome of the study. Hmm….
It’s important to have thorough and impartial studies completed, studies which demonstrate the actual cost per rider and the full cost of developing the trail and rail line. It’s important to have the proper public process for the trail and/rail line. Whatever is decided must be the result of careful, thorough analysis and not just a band-aid solution resulting from the failure of Proposition 1.
Sellers had a 15.9% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in April of 2008. ( click on 2008 year to date statistics in the link above for a chart showing the condo report)
April, 2008 1392 condos for sale, 222 condos sold, 15.9% chance of selling.
March, 2008 1277 condos for sale, 208 condos sold, 16% chance of selling.
April, 2007 621 condos for sale, 377 condos sold, 60% chance of selling.
Condo values on the Eastside continue to go up. Last month prices increased over 7% from last year and this month prices are up 12.6%. This is not to say it’s easy to sell a condo. Clearly, the actual number of sales is down considerably, by 41%.
Pricing a condo for sale should be based on the amount of competition and the most recent sales. Sales from even a few months ago are out of date. Understanding the competition when you go on the market is the key to a successful sale. Pricing must be competitive so a condo stands out from the pack.
The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in April 2008ranged from a low of 8.46% to a high of 19%, with an average 12.8% 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.)
Here are the real estate statistics for single family home sales activity on Seattle’s Eastside:
April, 2008 3985 homes available, 512 sold, 12.8% chance of selling.
March, 2008 3637 homes available, 493 sold, 13.5% chance of selling.
April, 2007 2444homes available, 734 sold, 30.0% chance of selling.
Sellers had a 15.4% chance of getting a home sold, UP from 14.5% last month and DOWN from 29.4% last year. Median home prices were down by 6.2%, from $637,000 to $597,639. Inventory was up by 48.8% and sales declined by 22% from last year.
Sellers had a 19% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 21.7% last month, and DOWN from 46.0% last year. Median sales price increased from $569,000 to $608,998. Inventory was up 110% and sales were down from 63 sales to 55 homes, a 12.7% decline.
Sellers had a 10.6% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 12.3% last month and DOWN from 25.9% last year. Median price decreased by 19% to $600,000 from $741,150. Inventory was up 54.5% and sales were down almost 36.7%.
Sellers had a 12.5% chance of selling a home, a minimal change from 12.3% last month and DOWN from 37% last year. Median price was down to $484,450 from $514,950, a 5.9% decrease. Inventory was up by 60.1% from last year and sales declined by 45.9%.
Sellers had a 8.46% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 10.7% last month and DOWN from 30.5% last year. Median price declined by .03%, from $710,000 to $707,950. Inventory was up by 62.6% and sales were down by 54.8%.
Sellers had a 9.03% chance of selling a home, UP from 7.26%, and DOWN from 28.3% last year. Median pricing increased by 42% to $1,399,000 from $985,000. Inventory climbed by 106.2% and sales declined by 34.1%.
Sellers had a 14.0% chance of selling a home, DOWN slightly from 14.8% last month, and DOWN from 20.9% last year. Median pricing increased by 13.1% from $577,015 to $652,450. Inventory increased by 71% and sales dropped by 14.5%.
County wide, inventory is up from January’s numbers. On the eastside 2963 homes were on the market in January and now there are 3985 homes for sale, a 26% increase. The chances of selling in the different eastside areas varied very little from March’s numbers. However, if sales were down in an area, there was no absolute correlation with median price. Even if sales were down, the median price could still go up. The median price was up from last April in four of the eastside areas and down in three of the areas.
If you are trying to get a feel of the market in a particular area, look at several months worth of data. This will give the most realistic view of the market. Pay particular attention to the increase in inventory in your area. Sellers. regardless of what’s happened in a previous month, make sure you understand how much actual competition there is in your area before establishing a sales price and going on the market.
Remember sellers, it is price and condition in this market. Homes are selling, but as we all know, competition for the buyer is fierce.
Seattle Eastside April 2009 condo real estate statistics
Eastside Real Estate Buzz
