Did Condo Prices Drop on Seattle’s Eastside in August, 2012?
First, a word about condo prices on Seattle's eastside:
Even though the news media said condo prices were down in King County, they appear to be holding steady in the Seattle's eastside cities of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc, when compared to August 2011 pricing. This is good news for condo sellers who have gotten beaten up by pricing in the last few years. With the low supply of condos for sale, prices are no longer declining, and, in fact, they may begin rising. In June, July, and August, prices on the eastside did increase, which brought us back to the pricing in the middle of last year. Unfortunately, prices did drop last fall through the early spring of this year, but we have now caught up to the prices we had in mid-2011. It appears that market pricing is holding steady now and has increased in the last few months.
Now back to the number of sales:
Condo sales numbers are actually not much higher than August, 2011 when 194 condos sold. This year, 201 condos sold in August. Because there's about half the number of condos for sale this year than in 2011, the percentage of those that sold, the absorption rate, skyrocketed. Last year, 19% of the condos sold and this year, 43% sold.
Time on the market has also dropped to an average of 68 days to sell vs.116 days in August of 2011.
So what does this all mean if you are thinking of selling or have your condo on the market?
If your condo takes a long time to sell, then it is either overpriced or is not marketed well. Make sure your condo has great online photos to start. Staging can also be a big plus. Good pricing and great photos are the two most critical marketing pieces to getting your condo sold. Remember this is how buyers and other agents "see" your home first, so the pricing and online marketing are crucial to getting buyers through the door to actually see your condo and make an offer to buy it.
What does this all mean if you are a condo buyer?
With the pattern of price increases, this means we're past the bottom of the market pricing. This may be the time to make a purchase. With the short supply, pricing could continue to increase. Remember, too, that interest rates are still incredibly low. Don't forget to check the financial viablity of an condo association you're thinking of buying into. In a blog post I wrote a few months ago, I listed some of the important things to look for when checking condos out. The post looks at the issue from the seller's point of view, but these issues should be important to any buyer. Fortunately for the buyer, the law requires a seller to provide the answers in the form of a resale certificate which is reviewed as one of the conditions of an offer.
If you have any questions about the condo market, please feel free to contact us.
The Seattle-Eastside Condo Market is Amazing!
Our amazing Seattle-Eastside real estate continues! How low can the supply of eastside condos go? In July there were only 463 condos for sale all over the Eastside, less than half the number of condos for sale in July of 2011! The supply is low and the prices have dropped considerably over the last few years as evidenced by the chart below. These market conditions bode well for buyers. Prices are at the bottom and with the low supply, they should begin rising. Unfortunately for the sellers who bought from 2007 on, it's still a tough market as pricing is well below the high experienced during that time.
Not only was the supply at the lowest I can remember, the number of sales were at the high so far for the year. There were 463 condos for sale and 236 of them sold! I've been in real estate on Seattle's eastside for 25 years and I've never seen anything like the lack of supply in the market we're experiencing now. In previous reports I mentioned if the supply of condos stayed on the low side, to expect the positive market to continue in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and the other cities east of Seattle. This was how the real estate market performed in July.
The chart beow shows the trend in pricing from 2008-2012 for condo sales on the eastside. Each blue bar represents a month during the years that are represented below. The red line that is drawn across each year shows where the median point is in pricing for the year.In 2008, the median pricing for condo sales on the eastside was $337,064. So far this year, the median pricing for sales is at $221,631. If you look at 2012, pricing has jumped up for the last two months, but on average, it's still lower than previous years.
Time on the market has also dropped to an average of 90 days to sell vs.109 days in June of 2011.
If you have any questions about the condo market, please feel free to contact us.
Were June Condo Sales on Seattle’s Eastside Still Hot?
What an amazing condo market on Seattle's Eastside! Since June of 2011, the number of condos for sale has continued to drop, and drop by alot. Last June there were 1139 condos for sale and this June there are less than 500! What a huge difference!
Not only are there fewer condos for sale, but the sales have been very strong, especially since February. The condo market has been even stronger over the past two months. Approximately 42% of the available condos sold in June. If the supply of condos stays on the low side, expect this positive market to continue in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and the other cities east of Seattle.
Median pricing was $235,000 this past month, whereas last year the median pricing for the month stood at $250,000. Don't worry too much about pricing for one month's worth of sales. As we always say, you must follow the trend over a period of months to measure any true increases or decreases in value. One month's real estate prices are only a reflection of the sales that happened that particular month.
Time on the market has also dropped to an average of 90 days to sell vs. 118 days in June of 2011.
So get our there and find a great home, but do your homework before getting in the car to look at properties. Check out the commute, the neighborhood, schools and anything else that is of importance to you before you start looking for a home. If you do that, you can target the right location to look for a home. You can then look for a home that works for you in a the right location.
Remember location, location, location is the primary rule of real estate. In today's world, location can mean many different things to people based on job location, commutes, and area amenities. Determine what it means to you and then go for the condos in that particular location.
If you have any questions about the condo market, please feel free to contact us.
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.