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The Real Estate Sales Numbers in Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue Continue to Be Fabulous
This tells it like it is in the Seattle area real estate market. The entire region, with the exception of Vashon Island in yellow, is a sellers market, which is indicated by the color red. The top sales rate, not the most sales, once again goes to Redmond and East Bellevue near Microsoft. In March, 80% of the homes sold there, while 69% sold in April! The odds of selling a home were the lowest in other parts of Redmond and Carnation. But at 32%, the odds were still good. This is a testament to the positive economy in the Seattle area and on the eastside.
Microsoft is hiring and moving people around the country. We know this first hand as we’re working with three different buyers who are either moving into the Bellevue/Redmond area or moving out of state for Microsoft.
Multiple offers, a shortage of homes, a huge percentage of homes selling in a short amount of time. some price increases (although minimal) are happening all over the Seattle eastside real estate market. The Seattle Times recently published a very positive picture of the local 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 69%!!!!!
Median sales price decreased from $430,000 to $428,000 (y-o-y)**
97 homes were for sale
A total of 67 homes sold
Days on the market: 70
2. South Bellevue/Issaquah
The odds of selling a home were 48%
Median price increased from $520,000 to $522,000
244 homes were for sale
A total of 118 homes sold
Days on market: 85
3. The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 44%
Median sales price increased from $467,000 to $472,000
There were 467 homes for sale
A total of 203 homes sold
Days on the market: 110
4. Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 42%
Median sales price increased from $383,000 to $385,000
397 homes were for sale
A total of 165 homes sold
Days on Market: 103
5. Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 36%
Median sales price decreased from $550,000 to $430,000
132 homes were for sale
A total of 47 homes sold
Days on Market: 72
6. West Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 34%.
Median sales price increased from $973,000 to $1,185,000
118 homes were for sale
A total of 40 homes sold
Days on Market: 107
7. Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 32%
Median sales price increased from $452,000 to $538,000!
219 homes were for sale
A total of 69 homes sold
Days on Market: 159
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.
April Showers Brought Lots of Real Estate Sales to Seattle’s Eastside
Seattle Eastside Real Estate Sales Through April, 2012
The Seattle eastside real estate market is still hot! Real estate sales’ numbers on Seattle’s Eastside are terrific. April sales numbers were similar to March when 46% of the available homes sold. In April, because there were about 100 more homes for sale, the odds of selling dropped slightly to 42% sold. Home sellers in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and other eastside cities have the best odds of selling a home since 2007! Much of this is due to the positive economy here in the Seattle area.
New listings are coming on the market and selling quickly. If no other homes were to come on the market, it would only take 1.4 months to sell all of the eastside homes. Demand is high, helping the good homes that are well priced, show well, have fabulous photos, and great marketing to fall into the 42% of homes that sold last month. Some homes have sold for over full price with multiple offers.
Remember, 58% of the homes did not sell and, more than likely, are missing one of the necessary elements necessary for a quick, well priced sale. The homes may need to have a better price tag or photos, staging or marketing. It’s still competitive and buyers are savvy enough to identify those homes that are well priced. Even though there aren’t a lot of homes for sale, there’s enough new listings coming on the market each month to guarantee a fresh supply of available homes. With interest rates remaining low, some buyers still take time to make a buying decision.
We sold several homes last month in a matter of days, with multiple offers and for over full price. We worked with all of the sellers for a while before their homes actually came on the market. One seller contacted us last summer so she would have the time to do everything needed to get ready to sell without creating additional stress. Most of our sellers contact us a few months before going on the market. It gives us enough time to get contractors in, if needed, to paint, re-carpet or refresh the landscaping.
How did this past April compare to April of 2011? Truly, there’s not much of a comparison between this year and last, but here it is:
- 42% of the available homes sold this past April, 23% sold in April, 2011.
- Homes sold in 101 days, which is down from 105 days in April, 2011.
- Median pricing was down to $485,000 from $492,000.
- Homes sold within 94% of the original asking price. Last year homes sold within 91% of the asking price.
- 23% more homes sold this year.
So if you plan to land in the 42% of homes that sell, not the 58% that did not, start the process by contacting your Realtor well ahead of time.
Condo Real Estate Sales Are Blooming All Over Seattle’s Eastside, But Should You Sell?
The Seattle eastside condo market sales are still great. Sales numbers for April were similar to those in March, which is good news. Thirty-seven percent of the available condos sold in April of this year, whereas in March, 39% sold. March and April have been the best months to sell a condo in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and other cities east of Seattle in the last 5 years, We expect this positive market to continue.
This is a great to sell your condo, but is it the right time for you? It’s not a simple decision. Not only is there the personal question you need to answer about whether you want to move, there are other questions you’ll need to get answered. Because condo owners are also owners in an association, the health of the condo association can affect a buyer’s ability to obtain financing and buy your condo.
We’re working with several clients who are considering whether to rent or sell. We recommended they get several questions answered by their home owner’s association. The answers to these questions can determine whether it would be best to stay put, rent or sell. Your Realtor can help you navigate through these issues and evaluate the answers so you can make the right decision.
- The owner occupancy ratio in your complex.
- The cap on the number of rentals in the complex and whether the cap has been met.
- Check the CCR’s to see what the rules are regarding rentals in the complex.
- Find out exactly what you owe, so you know how much you have to pay the bank.
- Check to see if there are any judgments or liens against the association AND individual units in the complex.
- Are there any pending assessments?
- Are there home owners who are in default with the HO Dues?
- Are there any condos that are currently short sales or foreclosures?
Do your research, contact your Realtor, and determine whether now is the right time for you to sell. Good luck!
Real Estate Sales in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond, Etc Are Hot!
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.
Seattle Eastside Condo Sales are Popping!
The Seattle eastside condo market is pretty incredible. Thirty-nine percent of the available condos sold in March of this year. Quite an eye popping number, since the high for last year happened when 20% of the available condos sold in a month. Sales are up and supply is down, causing the huge increase in the number of condos sold in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and other cities east of Seattle.
If you can afford to sell your condo and want to make that move up or out, now is a great time to go for it. If you’d rather wait to sell your condo until prices increase, then expect to wait a good 5 years to see any significant appreciation. Prices are the most affordable we’ve seen since 2007.
Since 39% of the condos sold last month, it still means 61% of the condos did not sell. It’s important to get the proper staging and pricing advice to be in that 39% of condos that sell. Sellers have to be ready for the market to join that 39%. Buyers are still pretty savvy, as they should be, about value and condition.
A Stampede for Homes in Bellevue, Kirkland and other Eastside Cities in March
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The chart tells it all! Look at the huge, and I mean huge, jump in sales over the past few months, a 56% increase in sales since January. Forty-six percent of the available homes sold in March. There’s a big stampede out there for homes in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and other eastside cities. This stampede means there’s often more than one buyer for a home, causing multiple offer situations.
We’re starting to see a pattern with eastside real estate. Lots of homes are selling and homes are selling quickly because there’s such a huge demand. Almost 900 homes were added to the market in March, but with 771 sales, the number of homes for sale has stayed almost the same. There was a small drop of 52 homes for sale from February to March.
How did this past March compare to March of 2011?
- 46% of the available homes sold this past March. 23% sold in March, 2011.
- Homes sold in 109 days, which is down from 137 days in March, 2011.
- Median pricing was down to $470,000 from $500,000.
- Homes sold within 93% of the original asking price. Last year homes sold within 91% of the asking price.
- 24% more homes sold this year.
I expect to see this real estate data change as this fast paced market continues. Expect to see median home prices stay more level, market time to decline, and homes selling closer to the asking prices.
- The Seattle eastside market is not following the usual trends we see this time of year. Usually market trends follow more of what the chart shows for last year. The number of homes for sale usually increases each month until in peaks sometime in the summer. As the year comes to an end, the number of homes for sale usually drops. We’re not seeing this at all this year. This year, we see fewer homes for sale each month. The big news, though, is still in the number of homes that sell each month.
Not all homes sell in a heartbeat. You can’t just put a sign in the front yard and expect everyone to line up.
The homes that are positioned properly in terms of price and condition relative to the competition are the homes that sell quickly. Your home has to show well and be priced competitively in order to grab the attention of the buyers. - 46% of the available homes sold this past March. 23% sold in March, 2011.
A Booming Real Estate Market in Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond And Other Eastside Cities in February, 2012
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.
*(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.
The Seattle Eastside Condo Market Was Great in February, 2012
If you have a condo to sell on Seattle’s eastside, now is a great time to put it on the market. If you’ve hoped to move and have felt as if you couldn’t do so over the last few years, things are different now. Competition among sellers has dropped dramatically, because there are so few condos for sale. There were only 723 condos for sale in all the eastside cities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Woodinville, Issaquah, etc. Just a few years ago, there were twice as many condos for sale.
Prices are not going to go back up any time and, more than likely, will no longer continue to drop. If your condo is underwater and/or you can’t or don’t want to sell because you’re taking a huge loss, that’s unfortunate. But for those who have contemplated a move up or out of the area, this is the best time to put your condo on the market in the last 5 years.
If you’re a buyer, condos haven’t been this affordable for about 6-7 years, so it’s a great time to buy. Most real estate gurus and economists think we’re at the bottom of the market. The situation varies dramatically in different parts of the country. Seattle is one of the bright spots in the economy, so our market is doing well. If you’re waiting for prices to go down even more, it doesn’t sound like that will happen, particularly in the Seattle area. We’ve been hit over the head with this fact since so many of the condos and homes are now selling with multiple offers. As soon as that happens, we know we were at bottom.
Last month, 25% of all the condos on the market sold. Condos sold, on average, within 89% of the original asking price.
Multiple Offers for Seattle Eastside Homes in February 2012!
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- When I check listings each day, I notice there are many homes that sell within a matter of days. Most days when I check listings, I’ve noticed they’re fewer new listings than sales. Just the other day there were 49 new listings on the eastside and 69 sales. More homes are selling than are coming on the market.
- The supply of buyers outweighs the supply of homes right now, which results in multiple offers for a home. This was common before the market crash and is now becoming a common phenomenon again here in the eastside cities of Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond.
- As I mentioned last month, it’s surprising to see fewer homes on the market than in January. Usually the number of homes for sale follows the same trend that we see in the chart for 2011. As most years progress, there are more homes for sale each month, with the number peaking sometime in the summer. This year we’ve not seen this pattern. It’s pretty unusual at this time of year to see the number of homes for sale actually be a lower number than the previous month. This week the number of homes for sale in all of King County dipped below 7000. We started the year with about 7500 homes for sale, so homes are selling at a pretty fast clip.
- Does this mean that home prices are going up? Even with multiple offers, not all of the homes are selling for full price. There are some homes, though, that are in demand, are truly special or are priced incredibly well which can and do sell for more than full price. Prices on the eastside are actually down about 2% from last year.
The Seattle-eastside real estate market was hot in February. Buyers were lining up and multiple offers were often the norm. Multiple offers? Yes, multiple offers.What happened to the supply of homes on the eastside?
In the eastside cities of Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond, etc, sellers who are able to hang on to their homes and choose not to sell are waiting, particularly if they paid more for their homes. The shadow inventory of foreclosures, is still a shadow at this point. There are foreclosures, but the eastside real estate market is not glutted with them.
This February there were 734 fewer homes, about 31% less, for sale on the eastside than last year. With almost 1/3 fewer homes on the market, it’s no big surprise that multiple offers are happening. Not only are fewer homes on the market, but more are selling than last year. Almost 100 more homes sold this February than last.
The wrap up February, 2012 Seattle-eastside real estate:
- 31% fewer homes were on the market in February this year than in 2011.
- The average time a home took to sell was 118 days.
- Sales prices on average were 8% below the seller’s original asking price.
- 34% percent of the homes for sale this January received offers and sold.
What’s happening in your neighborhood? Is the real estate market off to a better start this year?
*The numbers are a result of the real estate sales activity that happened that particular month only. In order to see a trend, it is important to look at a number of months together. One month is only indicative of that particular month’s sales.
Stayed tuned to see if this hot real estate market continues.
How Was The Real Estate Market In Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Other Eastside Cities At The Start of 2012?
What a difference a month makes! The January Real Estate Map shows a “Seller’s Advantage” in our market!
There’s a lot of “red” on the above Seattle area real estate map! There’s more “red” than we’ve seen in years, and I mean years. What does the “red” mean? It means it’s a seller’s market. The homes that are in the “red” areas sell in less than 3 months on average. In January, most of the eastside was a seller’s market. Mercer Island, West Bellevue, and Kirkland did not quite reach the threshold of a seller’s market, but Kirkland was almost there. The real estate markets in these areas were more evenly balanced between the buyers and sellers as homes sold on average within 3-6 months.
This real estate market is pretty exciting to see after the tough markets of the last few years. But what this really means is that we have a more normal market on Seattle’s eastside. The good homes that are priced right and show well are the homes that are selling quickly and bringing the average market time down. There are and still will be homes that aren’t priced well or don’t show well which will sit on the market and take longer to sell.
The chance of a home selling in the different eastside cities ranged from 15-30%. West Bellevue had the fewest sales when compared to the number of available homes, while the plateau cities of Sammamish, North Bend, and Fall City saw almost a third of the homes sell in one month!
But King County is a big place, and the real-estate market isn’t the same in SeaTac as it is in Sammamish.
A closer look at the statistics reveals significant variations from neighborhood to neighborhood.
It’s good to see the Times recognizing the neighborhood differences, since too many times the media publishes data, which covers too broad an area. This does not give an accurate picture of the real estate data.
How was real estate market in your Seattle-Eastside city in January, 2012?
1. The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 30%
Median sales price decreased from $496,000 to $465,000 (y-o-y)**
There were 469 homes for sale
A total of 86 homes sold
Days on the market: 123
2. South Bellevue/Issaquah
The odds of selling a home were 28%
Median price decreased from $575,000 to $484,000
226 homes were for sale
A total of 35 homes sold
Days on market: 90
3. Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 27%
Median sales price decreased from $534,000 to $522,000
155 homes were for sale
A total of 34 homes sold
Days on Market: 62
4. Redmond/East Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 26%
Median sales price increased from $380,000 to $460,000
125 homes were for sale
A total of 32 homes sold
Days on the market: 94
5. Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 25%
Median sales price decreased from $390,000 to $344,000
387 homes were for sale
A total of 64 homes sold
Days on Market: 115
6. Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 21%
Median sales price decreased from $522,000 to $483,000
193 homes were for sale
A total of 30 homes sold
Days on Market: 112
5. West Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 15%.
Median sales price increased from $650,000 to $1,230,000
118 homes were for sale
A total of 18 homes sold
Days on Market: 86
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.
