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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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.

 
Rebound in Seattle/Eastside real estate? Wait until 2012.
 
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.) There’s a lot of empty space east of Seattle, Bellevue and other parts of King County.  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!  It’s certainly not conducive to building a home. 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.
 
Another thing to watch is the number of homes for sale, the housing inventory.  We’re still at higher numbers, but things are starting to balance out. If you look at the maps, you’ll see the Seattle real estate market of 2009 is far more balanced than the Seattle real estate market of 2008. (A balance market is when the number of homes for sale in an area is less than a 6 months supply.  Yellow on the attached maps indicates a balanced market in the area.
 
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.
On yesterday’s “Morning Edition” on NPR Station, KPLU, John Maynard interviewed Richard Hagar about another issue, the influx of new people moving to Washington State, the majority of whom are moving to King County. Some of these people rent and some buy condos and homes.  The in-migration of people will only help our real estate and economy over time.
The year 2012 seems like a long way off, but we’re halfway through 2009.  It’s around a really long corner and it’s not going to be an easy “walk” to get there.
 
Now we’re at the end of the first month of 2012, what’s happening with Seattle-Eastside Real Estate? There are differences from what I wrote in 2009 that actually bode well for the Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, etc areas:
 
Builders are buying land now. We have a client who was approached by no less than 4 builders last year when his property was not even listed for sale.  Within the same week, he received several builder solicitations.  He’s not the only homeowner with land who has been approached.  Builders are actually looking to beef up their inventory of land so they can build again.
 
The number of homes on the market has reached the lowest level since February, 2007. In all of King County there are approximately 7500 homes and condos for sale.
The geography hasn’t changed and I believe it will take millions of years before it does and the economy is still performing at a far better pace in the Seattle area than in other parts of the country.  Amazon, Microsoft, and other companies are hiring.
 
What does your crystal ball say?

What's in 2012's Crystal Ball for Eastside Real Estate?

 
1. Boeing is showing strong employment, with the 737 MAX  and the 787 being built here, the labor peace pact, and strong bonuses.  Overall, it is a very nice scenario for the Puget Sound Economy.
2. Job growth in the region is generally outpacing the nation. The strength of both Boeing and Microsoft causes a “multiplier effect,” bringing more jobs with them.
3. Retail sales numbers have been a pleasant surprise.  Conway predicts a 5.9 percent increase in 2012 and a bit more than 3 percent growth in 2013.
4. Foreign exports are leading the recovery and Washington state is the nation’s top exporter, thanks again to Boeing. (Microsoft is also a factor here.)
5. The Puget Sound is home to many strong local companies.

 
Matthew Gardner had a fairly optimistic view for 2012 real estate in the Seattle area:

When combined with improving economic conditions, I would not be surprised to see several markets exhibit modest price growth in 2012. That said and, as we all know, real estate is all about location; therefore I do not expect that price recovery will be equal across all markets.
He tempers this line of thinking with the two elephants in the room:  the expected supply of distressed sales that will hit the market and the difficulty of obtaining financing:
 
If this is actually the case, then why aren’t prices higher? Well, there are still a number of anchors that are holding us back. The first of which is the shadow inventory in the shape of distressed homes. Many foreclosures have been trading at below market value and, in some cases, below replacement cost. This naturally holds down values.
 
Secondly, and equally as important, are the continued issues with obtaining financing for the purchase of a new home. It remains remarkably difficult to get a mortgage, which has led to an unusually high percentage of proposed purchases falling through.
 
With the new year and promising economic news, we expect Seattle-eastside real estate to be the strongest since 2007.  Home sales should be steady even as inventory rises into the summer.  Prices, of course, may stay about where they are for now.  The key to pricing will be the supply of homes on the market.  The more homes, the more competition for buyers and the more flexible sellers will need to be about pricing.  With fewer homes on the market and steady demand, prices should stabilize.  If prices do go up, most likely it will be in the areas that are close-in, areas which are considered desirable locations.  Expect distressed sales to temper the pricing this year.  The number of homes for sale and pricing will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.  The eastside is filled with real estate micro-markets and they don’t perform in the same way.
 
If there are any price increases, they will be minimal, but if there are increases, we will be shouting this from the rooftops!  Because we watch market trends so carefully, our sellers will be among the first to know about any price increases. You will, however, hear us shouting that 2012 is expected to be our best market in the last 4 years.
 
Our predictions:

• Prices should not drop further.
• Some homes will be the “hot” ones because of price and condition.  These homes will sell quickly and some will have multiple offers.
• Other homes and neighborhoods will move more slowly because of price and location.
• Local companies, such as Amazon and Microsoft, will continue to move people to the area.
• The supply of homes for sale will increase as the year heads to spring and summer, however, there are some homeowners who will choose to hold for a number of years.  The supply should not increase as dramatically as it has in the last few years.
• Distressed sales will continue to  be a significant part of the supply and will continue to affect pricing statistics.  However, pricing will be stronger for those homes that aren’t distressed sales.
• There will be a more balanced market between buyers and sellers.
• The wide range of activity indicates a normal, active real estate market on Seattle’s eastside.

 
What do you think will happen real estate in cities such as Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond?  Will prices go up, down or stay the same?  Do you see a good market in your area?

The Calder at Olympic Sculpture Park

Richard Serra at Seattle Olympic Sculpture Park

Next we paid a visit to Pike Place Market  which,  I’m willing to bet, was filled with people sightseeing around Seattle before they boarded one of those big ships to Alaska.  It was mobbed, but still it was wonderful to be there.  We ended up having a great lunch of gazpacho soup along with some take-out seafood appetizers.  I had Alaskan King Crab, which was to die for!  I also went to one of my favorite bakeries for dessert, 3 Girls Bakery, and had one of their rugula.   We took home a whole wheat hazelnut-currant bread.  All in all it was a pretty “tasty’ experience.

Saturday Crowds at Pike Place Market

Seattle's Pike Place Market

Gorgeous Berries

Check out these $400 truffles!  Would you pay that much for imported French truffles?  Amazing.

$400 Truffles!

After seeing all the salmon for sale at the market, we finished our day with a tour of the Ballard Locks, which were built 100  years ago to accommodate boats moving from Puget Sound to the Lake Washington Ship Canal. It’s fascinating to see the locks move the ships between the two areas.  There’s also a fish ladder where  you can view the salmon heading upstream to spawn and die.  These fish are amazing to watch as they struggle against the tide, so to speak.  The locks are one of my favorite places to visit in Seattle.

The Ballard Locks

On Sunday, we ventured out to the king of art fairs, The Bellevue Museum Art Fair, which is held in the parking garage of the mall.  I know that sounds strange, but after 25 years of attending the fair, I’ve gotten used to the fact that it’s in a parking garage.  (It’s so Bellevue!).    There’s terrific art, crafts, clothing, jewelry, sculpture, you name it, at this fair.   It’s hard to find a better art fair anywhere.

The fair also included some live performers.

Performance Art at the Bellevue Arts Museum Fair

There’s so much going on in the Seattle area and on the eastside in the summer.  If the weather cooperates, as it did last weekend, it’s a fabulous place to visit.  What are some of your favorite places to take visiting friends and family?

But most importantly, would you pay $400 to buy truffles?

Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Sales Through June, 2011

How strong were June, 2011 real estate sales on Seattle’s Eastside?  This summer’s real estate market is going to stay stronger than what we usually see during a Seattle summer. Traditionally, the highest number of homes for sale during a year comes near the end of July.  With this increased competition, it can make it more challenging to sell your home.  Although the number of eastside homes for sale has increased each month, the increase is nothing like the numbers we’ve seen during June of the last few years.

This year, the number of homes for sale is increasing, but at a much slower pace than last year.  In King County as a whole, there are 11,320 properties for sale.  Last year at the end of July, there were 14,639 properties on the market. This translates to 33% fewer homes on the market in King County this year.  On the eastside, there were 15% less homes for sale in June.  Since there’s still a great selection of homes for sale, the smaller number of available homes increases the odds of a home selling.

In fact, we had multiple offers on two listings this week alone.  I find we have a lot of showings on our listings, so buyers are definitely out there more than they usually are in the summer months.

The number of sales this past month dipped a little from the previous month, but only by 12 homes.  In May, we saw the highest number of homes sell in a month so far this year.  As a reminder, in April of last year, there’s a very high number of home sales.  This was artificially high as buyers tried to “cash in” on the tax credit.  This year, the sales numbers are not inflated by any other issue.  Real estate sales are fueled by the amount of job hiring in the area and by buyers who are more willing to move on with their lives, literally.

In June 2011, there were 2880 homes for sale and 661 of these homes had offers. The absorption rate, the number of homes that sold during a month compared to the number for sale, was 23%.  Almost one quarter of the Seattle eastside homes for sale sold in June.

How is the real estate market doing in your area?  Is it as strong as what we’re seeing here or is a little slower.

Recently, I made the trip to Home Depot and Seattle Eastside’s Crescent Lighting Store with one of my clients.   My goal for this home was to update it with some great looking fixtures, but in as economical way as possible. The home is in excellent condition and shows well, but some new fixtures would dress it up beautifully.  The fixtures below are great for traditional homes and work well for homes in the Seattle area that are below the $650,000 price point.  More expensive homes may command more expensive fixtures.  When you go looking for fixtures, take some photos of your spaces and the existing fixtures.  It will help you to pick out the right style for your home. 

Below are some of the plumbing and lighting fixtures we picked out:

Chrome Faucet- good for updating a bathroom

Brushed Nickel Faucets

The lighting fixtures should relate well to one another and share a similar style.  If you buy brushed nickel lights, then all of the fixtures should match with a  brushed nickel feel.    The same should happen with the shades or glass bowls.  Many of the bowls today are a smooth frosted look.  Again, all of the lighting should have the same glass look.   Talk with some of the people working in the store and have them help you to choose lighting that comes from a similar line and works well together.

Kitchen light fixture to update a home

Entry Light that will dress up a home

Dining Room Light Fixture

The total cost for this project was about $500.00.  It is $500.00 that is very well spent and will add that finishing touch to a great home.  Can you think of some other inexpensive ways to dress up a home?