Sellers had a 36% chance of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in July of 2007.
(information obtained from MLS and Windermere charts)

• July, 2007 918 condos for sale, 332 sales, 36% chance of selling a condo.
• June, 2007 840 condos for sale, 382 sales, 45% chance of selling a condo.
• July, 2006 554 condos for sale, 393 sales, 70% chance of selling a condo.

The increase in inventory is the big news this year. Since the start of the year, inventory has climbed from 507 to 918 condos for sale. Inventory is up by 55% since January! There were 288 sales in January and 332 this past month. Sales have only increased by 14% this year.

Although sales increased from January to now, sales numbers decreased from last July, from 393 to 332 sales. The decrease in sales is not so dramatic, particularly when compared to the increase in inventory.

The condo market has undergone a huge shift from last year when 70% of the listings were selling. Everything sold last year with multiple offers. Now we are seeing more price reductions and longer market times. Last month we saw a more level playing field between buyers and sellers. This month we have gone from a strong seller’s market to a buyer’s market.

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The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in July of July 2007 ranged from a low of 18% to a high of 33%. All of the areas experienced a decline in the chances of selling a home.The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend and Fall City

Sellers had a 21% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 25% last month and DOWN from 42% last year.
Median home prices dropped by about 5% to $569,800 from $602,475.
Inventory is up by 51.7% and sales have declined by 21.7% from last year.

I repeat my words from last month. If you are looking for a home on the plateau, now is the time to grab it! As a buyer, you have more choices than have been available for three years.

West Redmond/East Bellevue

Sellers had a 33% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 42% last month and DOWN last year.
Median sales price increased to $599,000 from $524,950 last year, 1 14.1% change.
Inventory is also up by 51.9%

The neighborhoods close to Microsoft are still the best performing area on the Eastside. However, we are seeing slowing down there also.South BellevueSellers had a 22% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 25% last month and DOWN from 36% last year.
Median price climbed to $749,975 from $679,000, a 10.5% increase.
Inventory jumped up by 35%.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 26% last month and DOWN from 36% last year.
Median price was up from $476,000 to $550,000, a 15.5% increase.
Inventory is up a whopping 56.2%

Kirkland

Sellers had a 22% chance of selling a home, DOWN slightly from 23% last month and DOWN slightly from 25% last year.
Median price climbed by 15.8% to $757,475 from $654,250.
Inventory is up by about 21%

The percentage of sales as compared to inventory has changed the least of all the Eastside areas.

West Bellevue

Sellers had an 18% chance of selling a home, DOWN significantly from 33% last month, and UP from 14% last year.
Median pricing rose by 23.2% to $1,354,975 from $1,100,000.
Inventory climbed by 20%.

The sales drop translates to 21 less sales this past month.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation

Sellers had a 21% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 25% last month, and DOWN from 31% last year.
Median pricing was up from $624,900 to $644,435, a 3.1% increase.
Inventory doubled and was up by 53.2%

Last month appreciation was down because the appreciation reported was a reflection of last month’s sales, which were lower in price.

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Sellers had a 25% chance of getting their homes sold.

Here are the numbers for single family residences:

For complete year-to-date data, you can review these charts.

• This month, July, 2007: 3235 homes available, 773 homes sold, 25% chance of selling.
• Last month, June, 2007: 3107 homes available, 841 homes sold, 27% chance of selling.
• July 2006: 2281 homes for sale, 803 homes sold, 34% chance of selling.
  (Numbers are from derived from MLS data and for pending sales of single family homes, not closed sales)

Inventory increased this July by about 1000 homes from last July, a significant jump in available homes. With each passing month, inventory has increased this year, so our numbers are much higher than January (1895 homes in January vs. 3235 in July). However, the number of new listings coming on the market is less than previous months. The addition of 128 homes for sale in July is one of the smallest monthly increases this year. Below is a list the number of new listings added to to the market each month:

• January – 1895 homes available
• February – 1910 homes available, 15 new listings
• March – 2126 homes available, 216 new listings
• April – 2444 homes available, 318 new listings
• May – 2823 homes available, 379 new listings
• June – 3107 homes available, 284 new listings
• July – 3235 homes available, 128 new listings

Overall, the number of properties, homes and condos, on the market increased by 224 properties this month, an increase of 96 condos along with 128 single family listings. (I will be reporting about the Eastside condo market in a separate article. )

How have sellers been fairing? Our median sale price is up, but not every month. The median price each month is a function of what’s sold that month, so we are seeing some monthly fluctuation. However, I believe, barring any complete meltdown of the mortgage industry, there will be some good appreciation come December. Competition, however, has increased as the overall gap between the number of listings and the number of sales became greater. When selling your home, it should be priced against the current competition, not just the past sales. If you are a seller, expect to have your home in pristine condition when going on the market. Your home must be perfect and positioned with professional marketing the first moment your listing hits the internet, not a day later. Your Realtor should have all of the marketing complete and ready to go before you are listed.

Is there a silver lining for sellers? With less new listings coming to market, is the amount of new inventory slowing down? We shall see in the next few months.

How are buyers fairing? Buyers should be out buying right now. The choices are just great. In many areas there’s a softening of prices. If sellers are in tune with the current market, sellers are more negotiable. I have seen some price reductions in some communities where homes sold with multiple offers just a few months ago. If you are a buyer with impeccable credit, this is a time for you to be out looking and buying. You may also have less competition with other buyers.

Can homes still sell in a day in this market? Yes, I just had a closing on a home in central Bellevue that sold in one day for just over $700,000. My buyers were able to see the home within hours of its listing. We presented the offer that night and it was accepted first thing in the morning. That day many other buyers were scrambling on that house, but too late. My buyers were able to react quickly because they had seen a lot of homes. When they walked into this home, it was clear it was the one and it was worth the full asking price.

Check out the charts listed above and let me know if there is other data you would like to see. I will comment each month with some different things I see happening in the market. Your thoughts are welcome! Stay tuned for my condo report and eastside neighborhood report.

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In June of 2007, the chances of selling a home mostly stood between 23-26%, with the exceptions being West Bellevue with a 33% chance and West Redmond/East Bellevue with a 42% chance.

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

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling, DOWN from 29% last month, and DOWN from 40% last June.
Median home prices increased by 5% to $604,475.
Inventory is up by 53% and sales have declined by 4%.

Buyers, if you have been waiting to buy on the plateau, now is the time for a good value. This area wins for having the most homes to choose from on the Eastside. Inventory is near the all time high on the plateau and has not been this high since July of 2004. (Correction from last month: the chances of selling in May was 29%, not 39% as listed in last month’s report).

West Redmond/East Bellevue

Sellers had a 42% of selling a home, DOWN from 63% in May, and DOWN from 70% last June.
Median home prices have increased by 12% from $555,000 to $624,500.
Inventory has increased by 51% and sales have declined by 8%.

West Redmond/East Bellevue wins as the area on the Eastside with the highest percentage of sales, although the chances were less than last month and last year. Even this area is coming back to earth a bit with more of a level playing field between buyers and sellers.

South Bellevue

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 29% in May, and DOWN from 42% last June.
Median pricing has increased by 7.5% from $649,970 to $699,000.
Inventory has increased by 42% and sales have declined by 16%.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 26% chance of selling in June, UP from 24% in May, and DOWN from 39% last June.
Median pricing has increased by 15% to $522,475 from $452,475.
Inventory has increased by 54% and sales have increased by 6%.

Kirkland

Sellers had a 23% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 31% in May, and DOWN from 30% last June.
Median pricing has increased by 15% from $600,000 to $694,000.
Inventory has increased by 32% and sales have only increased by 1%

South Bellevue

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 29% in May, and DOWN from 42% last June.
Median pricing increased by 7% from $649,970 to $699,000.
Inventory increased by 42% and sales declined by 16%.

West Bellevue

Sellers had a 33% chance of selling a home in June, UP from 29% in May, and DOWN from 38% last June.
Median pricing is up 20% from $1,245,000 to $1,500,000.
Inventory is up by 21% and sales are up slightly by 8%

West Bellevue wins for the area with the highest appreciation and the highest median price.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 33% in May, and DOWN from 44% last June.
Median pricing declined by 2% from $615,000 to $598,000.
Inventory increased by 36% and sales declined by 22%.

This area had the greatest decline in sales and is the only area that showed a decline in median pricing. I believe the decline in median pricing is an anomaly and not a reflection of a true decline in pricing in this area.

Buyers, this is more your market and it is a great time to find a great value.

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Sellers had a 45% of selling a condo on Seattle’s Eastside in June, 2007

• June, 2007 840 condos for sale, 382 sales, 45% chance of selling a condo.
• May, 2007 761 condos for sale, 376 sales, 49% chance of selling a condo.
• June, 2006 543 condos for sale, 432 sales, 79% chance of selling a condo.

In many of my postings regarding the market, I have said “What a difference a year makes!” Condos are still hot and a great investment, however, if you were a seller last year, your condo probably sold in an hour with multiple offers. This year, sales are brisk, but less competitive because there is so much more to choose from. There is more of a level playing field between buyers and sellers. Buyers should be making a purchase at this time because the amount of inventory has not been this high since September of 2004. There are a lot of choices out there. Inventory has increased by almost 80 properties just since May of this year.

Again sellers,do not give up hope. Your condo has appreciated about 12% since last year. It was wise to make a purchase then and is wise to make a purchase now. Prices, especially in affordable price ranges, are not going to go down. If you are thinking of getting into the market, this is still a great time to buy. Next year at this time, you would be looking at how much your condo had appreciated.

For more information about the overall condo market, see my previous post.

For a review of the condo activity for the last few years, take a look at this chart.

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Sellers had a 30% chance of getting a home sold on the Eastside.Single family home activity:
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This month, June 2007: 3107 homes available, 841 sold, 30% chance of selling
Last month, May 2007: 2823 homes available, 871 sold, 31% chance of selling
Last year, June 2006: 2168 homes available, 883 sold, 47% chance of selling
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If you click on statistics, this will bring you to my webpage where you can find the latest sales charts on all the Eastside areas.

With summer in Seattle the tradition continues: more flowers and more “for sale” signs sprouting up in yards all over. Competition has increased dramatically since the first of the year when there were only 2402 properties, homes and condos, for sale. There are now 3947 homes and condos available, a 60% increase over the first of the year. We have hit a peak so far for the year.What a difference a year makes! With 3100 single family homes on the market, there are almost 1000 more homes for sale than last June. The amount of inventory has increased, but the sales numbers have dropped a bit from last month and last year at this time.

Buyers have 43% more homes and condos to choose from this year than last year. It’s a great time for a buyer to buy. However, buyers must know how each neighborhood is selling based on the competition. When you look at my next posting regarding the specific areas around the Eastside, you will see that the neighborhood makes a difference. Some areas are far more competitive with many homes for sale. Other areas are still lacking in inventory. Knowing this information as a buyer will help to determine how to negotiate.

I just re-listed a home in the English Hill area for $10,000 less than we had priced it at in April. The increased competition in the marketplace and the fact that sales in the area have declined led me to recommend a price that was $10,000 less than a few months ago. The market is not dropping, just a bit more competitive right now.

For sellers, the average price of a home is still far above last year’s pricing. The average price of a single family home is up 10% from last year. This year the median price on the Eastside is $691,922 and last year it was $624,687. Condo pricing has increased by 12.7% from $303,285 to $341,725. (Please see my posting on June’s condo market which will follow)

The sellers who get an offer and sell their homes in this increasingly competitive market are fully informed regarding the market conditions and the competition. Pricing based on a sale from March is not the way to net the most money. March is already history. Pricing must be established just before going on the market by understanding the actual competition and pricing a home accordingly.

Stayed tuned and look at an upcoming entry for statistics about specific neighborhoods.

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We are lucky to be in Seattle! Our area continues to defy the national real estate market trends. Here is a bit about what has happened since 1990:

Homes appreciated every year, except two:

1992 – prices stayed the same.

2001 – prices declined a bit ( remember 9/11) – 2%

Top five years with the highest appreciation:

1998 – 21%

1997 – 18%

2005 – 17%

1999 – 14%

2006 – 13%

Inventory was much higher in the 1990’s than in the 2000’s.

It was not uncommon for much of the early 90’s to have 7000-9000+ properties for sale.

August, 1991 – 9546 homes were available

May, 2007 – 3584 homes are available, 2/3 less homes are available today

Even though we are at the highest amount of properties on the market since 2004 with 3500 properties available, our inventory levels are nothing like the 1990’s!

Hang on through the rest of this decade. We still have a lot of growth to come. The job market is still very strong and available land for new construction is limited. Expect appreciation to continue throughout the rest of the decade.

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Sellers had a 30% chance of getting a home sold.

(Don’t forget to look at the attached charts on my website, www.debrasinick.com. Click on statistical reports for May 2007 and the statistics-year to date charts.)

Single family home sales:
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This month, May 2007: 2823 homes available, 871 sold, 30% chance of selling
Last month, April 2007: 2444 homes available, 734 sold. 31% chance of selling
Last year, May 2006: 1974 homes available, 936 sold 47% chance of selling
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What a difference a year makes! Last year the chances of selling were at 47% for the Eastside as a whole. This year inventory increased 15% for single family homes and condos, an increase of 519 properties. In April there were a total of 3065 properties for sale. In May, the inventory continued to creep up to 3584 homes and condos. This is the largest inventory for sale since April of 2004, pretty significant! Three years have passed since we’ve seen so many properties for sale. The increase in inventory and the slight decline in sales reduced the chances of selling a home only by a whisper from April, but by a difference of 17% from last May to this May.

Is the real estate market beginning to decline? NO, however it is changing and is gradually slowing down from earlier performance levels. The big change is between the numbers for this year and last. Most Eastside areas have declined in sales activity by about 12%

The median price continues to climb! It is now at $691,632 UP about 10% from last year when the median price was at $625,405, and UP from April’s numbers of about $655,000. Again, as mentioned in last month’s statistics update, the median price is a result of what actually sells during any given month, so there will be slight peaks and valleys in the median price throughout the year. At the end of 2007, I still believe prices will be up for the year. So far, each month has seen an increase in the median price.

What were the chances of selling a home in your area?

The plateau, Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City

Sellers had a 29% chance of selling, DOWN from the 30% in April, and DOWN from 57% last May.

The pattern stays the same with this area having the most number of homes for sale and the most number of sales.

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The West Redmond/East Bellevue area

Sellers had a 63% chance of selling, UP from 45% in April, and DOWN from 88% last May.

This area still wins by a huge margin for the highest absorption rate on the Eastside. It continues to buck the other neighborhood sales trends. Most other areas are seeing a sales rate of 24-33% of the homes. With its low inventory, the opportunity is still strong for a home sale to be bid up with multiple offers. Ironically, even with the chance of selling at 63%, the chances of selling were still down by 25% from last year.
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Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 24% of selling, DOWN from 37% in April, and DOWN from 49% last May.
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Kirkland

Sellers had a slightly better chance of selling this past month 31%, UP from a 29-30% in April, DOWN from 41% last May.
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South Bellevue

Sellers had a 29% chance of selling, UP from 25% in April, DOWN from 41% last May.
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West Bellevue

Sellers had a 29% chance of selling, Up slightly from 28% in April, and THE SAME as last May.
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Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation

Sellers had a 33% chance of selling, DOWN from 35% in April, and THE SAME as last May.

Debbie’s monthly tip: Summer is a great time to recaulk all your windows.

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Sellers had a 36% chance of getting a home sold in April, 2007.

(Don’t forget to look at the attached charts on my website, http://www.debrasinick.com/. (Click on statistical reports for April 2007 and the statistics-year to date charts.)

Bottom line for April?

There was an increase in inventory of 14% for both single family homes and condos, an increase of 404 properties. In April there were a total of 3065 properties for sale. This is the largest inventory for sale since October of last year, when 3168 homes/condos were for sale. Because of this jump in inventory and a slight decline of about 100 sales, the chances of selling a home in April were 36%, down 10% from March to April.

Below you will see how each Eastside market is performing. Sellers in most areas had less of a chance of selling this past month because the inventory increased. Is the real estate market beginning to decline? NO. We are just experiencing the typical spring increase in inventory.

The median price is now is $655,946, UP from $587,545 in April 2006 and DOWN from $671,385 in March, 2007. Do not worry! The median price is a result of what actually sold that month, so there will be slight peaks and valleys in the median price throughout the year. At the end of 2007, I believe prices will still be up. The year began with the median price below $600,000, so we are already on a rise.

I have two clients who emailed me about these stats this past month. One asked that I put together a simple chart and one asked for the stats to show single family homes only, so here is my simple chart comparing single family home sales on the Eastside:

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This month April 2007: 2444 homes available, 734 sold. 31% chance of selling.
Last month March 2007: 2126 homes available, 826 sold 38% chance of selling.
Last year April 2006: 1838 homes available, 835 sold 45% chance of selling.
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What were the chances of selling a home in your area?

The plateau area with Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
Sellers had a 30% chance of selling, DOWN from the 40% in March and DOWN from 52% last April.

This area wins for the most number of homes for sale and the most number of sales.

The West Redmond/East Bellevue
Sellers had a 45% chance of selling, DOWN from 58% in March, and DOWN from 65% last April.

This area still wins for the highest absorption rate on the Eastside.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 37% of selling, UP from 35% in March, and DOWN from 55% last April.

Kirkland
Sellers had the SAME change of selling this past month as last month, with a 29-30% chance, DOWN from 34% last April.

South Bellevue
Sellers had a 25% chance of selling, DOWN from 40% in March, DOWN from 39% last April.

West Bellevue
Sellers had a 28% chance of selling, DOWN from 35% in March, and DOWN from 33% last April.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation
Sellers had a 35% chance of selling, DOWN from 48% in March, and DOWN from 41% last April.

News for condo sellers and buyers: Good news, inventory is on the rise!

There was an almost 40% increase in the number of condos for sale this year as opposed to April of last year. The chances of a seller selling a condo this April is 60%, DOWN from last year at this time when there was a 90% chance of selling. A 60% chance for sellers to sell is still wonderful.

Debra’s monthly tip: Start thinking about exterior maintenance on your home. Line up the painters, roofers, etc as their busy season is fast approaching. For a list of contractors, click on the service referral button on my website.

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Sellers had a 46% chance of getting a home sold in March.

The real estate market is only getting better and better this year! The overall Eastside market is following our typical spring trend with a high proportion of the listings receiving offers and selling. We are still behind last March’s booming market when 54% of the homes for sale received offers. Still, this year with each passing month, the market is improving. Unlike February when only 23 more properties were on the market, there was a spike in listings in March. Two hundred thirty-six more properties were offered for sale last month, an increase of 9% in inventory.

Bottom line for March: there were 9% more properties to choose from than in February and there was an increase of 4% in the amount of homes receiving offers.

So which Eastside markets sizzled in March?

The plateau area with Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City wins again as the area with the most homes for sale and the most sales during the month. There were 559 single family homes on the market, a whopping 35% increase from March of 2006. Sales for the month totaled 226, the most on the Eastside. However, the plateau was sizzling even more last year at this time. Inventory has increased dramatically, but the number of sales has dropped from last year by 22%, from 290 to 226 sales. This year it’s a bit harder to sell a home on the plateau. This year there was a 40% a home would sell and last year there was a 70% chance!

The West Redmond/East Bellevue area is hopping, but in a different way. This area wins for the greatest percentage of homes selling this month. Fifty-eight percent of the homes for sale received offers. This area has had some of the lowest amount of homes available for sale anywhere. No wonder there’s been a lot of multiple offers. There were 119 homes for sale, up from 96 in February of 2006 and up from the 98 homes available in this February. Homes receiving offers this month jumped up from 57 homes last month to 70 homes sold. Even though last year 80% of the homes sold during the month, still some pretty incredible numbers here!

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall saw inventory shoot up by 71%, an in increase higher than any other area. Sales, though, were down by almost 8%. The chances of selling a home dropped considerably from last year. Last year 65% of the homes sold, while this year only 35% of the homes sold.

Kirkland sales were a bit slower this year than last as 29% of the homes sold. Last year there were sales of 36% of the available homes. Inventory increased by 18% and sales declined by 8% this year.

South Bellevue sales numbers were similar to last year, dropping by 5 sales, but inventory increased by almost 20%. The chances of selling a home were 40%, similar to the chances on the plateau. Last year, 50% of the home owners received offers during the month.

Areas with more of a chance of selling this year than last year?

West Bellevue: Inventory was down by 24 homes or 16%, one of the few areas where less is on the market this year than last. Sales, however, increased by 13% from 38 to 43 homes. The chances of a home selling in March in West Bellevue were 35%, whereas last year the chances were only 26%.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation: There was a slight drop in inventory of 9 homes, a 4% decline, but sales increased by almost 13% to 96 homes from 85 last year. The chances of selling a home this year were 48% while last year it was 41%.

Our March market is strong, but a bit slower than the booming market we had last year.

News for condo sellers and buyers: Available condos increased by 25% from 427 in March of last year to 535 this year, yet only one more condo sold this year than last year! In March, there were about 20 more condos available than in February. I just posted a commentary on the Seattle/Eastside condo market. In this post, I mentioned some interesting trends to watch. Also, if you are buying a condo, you should pick up April’s edition of Seattle Metropolitan magazine. It has great information about condo complexes and the purchase process. I thought the article presented some great questions to ask when looking at a condo to purchase.

Don’t forget to look at the attached charts on my website for this past month and past year. (Click on statistical reports for 2007 and for March 2007). Look at statistics-year to date charts to find this information.

http://debrasinick.com/docs/2007_Year_to_Date.pdf

Debra’s monthly tip: Spend a little green to make a little green. Now is the time to take care of your yard. A nice yard is a great way to “frame” a home.

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Monthly Statistics for February, 2007

So what were the chances of selling a home on the Eastside in February 2007?

Sellers had a 42% chance of getting a home sold in February.

This is a fabulous increase from the 33% chance sellers had to sell a home in January. Almost half of all the condos and homes listed in February received offers. This is obviously a very positive trend and it speaks volumes about the direction of our market. Thirty-two% of the homes for sale in December sold, 33% in January, and now in February there was a 42% chance of selling. The amount of properties on the market has increased by only 23 homes/condos, 3%, and the number of sales has increased by 9%.

Looking back at 2006, your odds of selling a home were a bit stronger in February 2006 than this February, but not by much, since 46% of the homes sold as compared to 42%. It will be interesting to watch if our typical yearly patterns continue this year as they have in most of the past years. If you take a look at the Eastside Summary reports (click on statistical reports for 2007) you can see how more of the inventory sells in the spring. Spring is generally more of the seller’s market. I predict the same market swings as we have generally seen in the past few years with the market more seller friendly in the spring and more buyer friendly as the year moves on.

Of course, each area is slightly different. For example, there is a much larger amount of homes available in on the plateau, Snoqualmie, and Issaquah north of I-90. There were almost 500 homes available in these areas. This is a result of the boom in construction that is happening in Snoqualmie right now. These new homes have added greatly to the amount of inventory available in these areas. However, if you look at some of the more established areas of the plateau such as in Sammamish, they, too, do not have many homes for sale.

If we look to areas such as Bothell, Woodinville, Duvall and Kenmore, 380 homes were available. The Kirkland area came in next with 275 homes on the market in February. Inventory declined sharply in many of the other areas such as Redmond/Carnation with 187 homes, West Bellevue with 114, West Redmond/East Bellevue with 98 homes, and Mercer Island with only 90 properties available. The lack of inventory in these areas explains some of the increase in appreciation in each of these areas. The median price of homes in West Bellevue has increased by 68% from last year! This will explain why in some areas homes will have more than one buyer and may sell with multiple offers.

Good news for condo buyers: available condos increased by 26% from 406 in February of last year to 515 this year. More condos sold than last year as 328 condos sold as compared to 301. Even with all the new construction condos being built in all price ranges and the huge number of condo conversions, there still is a dearth of inventory. If you look at February of 2003, there were about 1200 condos on the market, so 515 available now do not represent many condos. In the next few years, many more condos will come on line, particularly in the luxury market.

Don’t forget to look at the attached charts on my website for this past month and past year. (Click on statistical reports for 2007 and for January 2007). Look at statistics-year to date charts to find this information. These charts will clarify a lot of the information.

For those of you who are familiar with my monthly statistics reports, you can see I have changed the format. I try to present market information in the most meaningful way possible. I plan to spend time analyzing the information presented in the past to see if there is a better way to present the individual price range data. However, feel free to contact me if you do have questions about the performance of each of the different price ranges.

Debra’s monthly tip: Since you never know when you may sell, take photos of your yard as the season progresses. Great photos of your yard can always be used in marketing, even if you sell in the dead of winter.

http://debrasinick.com/docs/2007_Year_to_Date.pdf

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Everyone wants to know what is happening with the market and if homes are selling. I will give you a market report each month that will answer this all important question.

How do I get this information? I look at the statistics form the Multiple Listing Service each month which you can find in the link. I analyze the supply and demand for each month. If the percent of the homes selling is 45% or below, we are looking at a buyer’s market. If this percentage, which we call the absorption rate, falls between 45-55%, then we have a market balanced between buyers and sellers. A market in which 55% of the available homes sell is a seller’s market. Last year, sellers markets were found in March through June, while the rest of the year was more in the buyer’s camp.

Check out the link for January’s results!

http://debrasinick.com/docs/Stats%20for%20Jan%202007.pdf

http://debrasinick.com/docs/2007_Year_to_Date.pdf

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This information comes from the statistics charts for the full year, please take a look at
http://debrasinick.com/docs/2006_Year_to_Date.pdf

The 2006 real estate market was a real roller coaster ride. Overall, prices were up for the year. Inventory climbed each month, peaked in October, and dropped off at the end of the year. With the increase in inventory, the fall proved to be the toughest time to sell a home.

As I mentioned in a statistics report in June, I could see the number of homes for sale increasing dramatically. We started the year with only 2031 homes for sale. By September, inventory peaked with 3218 homes. December saw a drop in inventory to 2165 homes. This was1100 homes less than September, but only 100 more homes than we started with in January of 2006.

The best month to sell in 2006?
March, when 61% of all the homes listed sold!

The month with the greatest number of sales in 2006?
May with 1367 homes sold.

The month with the largest number of homes for sale in 2006?
September with 3218 homes for sale.

The toughest month to sell in 2006?
November when only 20% of the homes sold.

How did the year end? On the eastside prices increased an average of 19%. The increases varied, Mercer Island took the price, oops the prize, in 2006 with 36.9% appreciation. Downtown Redmond, Education Hill and Union Hill were next with a 26.9% increase in pricing and West Bellevue followed closely with 24.1% The Redmond/Bellevue area around Microsoft showed a price increase of 9.4% while Kirkland prices were up 15.3%.

Overall, 10% less homes sold in 2006 than in 2005. A few areas showed an increase in sales, but this was the exception rather than the rule. Seventeen percent more homes sold in West Bellevue and 16% on the plateau.

My crystal ball for 2007: We should see a strong market this year. The rate of appreciation will be less than 2006 and definitely less than 2005. I believe the increase for the Eastside will continue, but at a slower pace. There will be exceptions to this rule, such as the neighborhoods of West Bellevue and Mercer Island. Strong increases in pricing will still be seen there. The best time to sell your home in 2007? If you can do it, put your home on the market by April. The stronger absorption rates and the greatest number of sales happen in the spring.

Watch our employment rates. This will give you a good clue as to where we are heading in the real estate market. The more jobs created, the more houses will sell and the more likely will be an increase in prices. Pay attention to the absorption rate each month and this will also give you a clue as to market performance.

Enjoy 2007!