The Seattle-Eastside real estate market ends 2011 in better shape than we’ve seen in the last four years.  There’s a more evenly balanced market between buyers and sellers, which the market is a fairly “normal” one in which some homes sit on the market and the good ones that show well and are priced well sell quickly.  In a balanced market, there is no  “one size fits all.” We see all kinds of things happening with homes, depending on the price, condition, sellers and buyer motivation.  The supply of homes is down more than it has been for 4 years, which is helping to balance out the supply of homes with the demand from buyers.

There’s a lot of yellow on the above map, indicating a balanced market in which it takes 4-6 months for a home to sell.   Yellow is the dominant color with the usual hot spots in some Seattle neighborhoods in “red,” indicating a faster moving market.

Here on the eastside, East Bellevue and Redmond near Microsoft is the “hot” area and is shown in red.  Red means homes are selling at a faster rate,  in under 3 months.   This area finished the year with more than one third of the listed homes selling in December.  Not all that long ago there were over 200 homes for sale!  In December there were only 125 homes for sale and 42 of these homes received offers. The number of homes for sale in that area was incredibly low, prompting a faster market with a high absorption rate (supply to sales) and a short market time.

The rest of the eastside has experienced one of the better years since the market meltdown.  It’s a much more normal real estate market than 1, 2, or 3 years ago.  I expect this year to be even better!

The cities below are grouped together to follow our MLS areas (multiple listing service) because our statistics are reported in this manner.  The cities are listed in order from the highest to the lowest in demand which is determined by the number of homes sales compared to the number of homes for sale. (Again, it’s that absorption rate) If there is a greater demand, then there is a higher percentage of home sales.

How was real estate market in your Seattle-Eastside city in December, 2011?

1. Redmond/East Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 36%*

Median sales price increased (y-o-y)**from $420,000 to $455,000

125 homes were for sale

A total of 42 homes sold

Days on the market: 104

2. Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 19%

Median sales price increased from $498,000 to $510,000

167 homes were for sale

A total of 57 homes sold

Days on Market:  101

2. (TIE) South Bellevue/Issaquah

The odds of selling a home were 19%

Median price decreased from $560,000 to $505,000

242 homes were for sale

A total of 58 homes sold

Days on market: 123

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

The odds of selling a home were 17%

Median sales price increased from $440,000 to $463,000

There were 527 homes for sale

A total of 116 homes sold

Days on the market: 103

4.  Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation

The odds of selling a home were 16%

Median sales price decreased from $530,000 to $515,000

207 homes were for sale

A total of 66 homes sold

Days on Market: 115

4. (TIE) Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 16%

Median sales price decreased from $393,000 to $339,000

421 homes were for sale

A total of 96 homes sold

Days on Market: 127

5. West Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 10%.

Median sales price increased from $950,000 to $998,000

127 homes were for sale

A total of 15 homes sold

Days on Market: 95

In many of the areas where there was a higher demand, the median sales price for the month increased in December, 2011 from December 2010.  Prices did not go up last year.  When I compare 12/11 to 12/10, the median price of homes that sold in some areas was higher in 2011 than 2010.  If we take the whole year, pricing was down overall.

With the lower supply, I expect pricing to be more stable this year at the very least.  Competition is still there, but it is far less than it was in the middle of last year when more homes were for sale.

Will prices increase?  Only time will tell and if they do, it will be a minimal increase.  Read my soon to be published post about predictions for 2012.