Bellevue, WAEastside Real EstateFor HomeownersFor SellersKirklandMarket StatisticsReal EstateRedmondSeattle March 20, 2012

Multiple Offers for Seattle Eastside Homes in February 2012!

 
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.

 

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.
 

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.
 

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 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.

 

Eastside Real EstateFor SellersKing County, WAReal Estate February 29, 2012

How Was The Seattle Eastside Real Estate Market in January, 2012?

 


 

 

Real estate on Seattle’s eastside had a great start to 2012.   Pending sales were up by 38% and there were 26.5% fewer homes on the market this year than in January, 2011! This is a recipe for a positive real estate market here in the cities of Bellevue, Kirkland,  Redmond, Issaquah, Sammamish and Woodinville.    In January, 2011 there were over 2300 homes for sale, in July 2011 there were  2879 homes for sale, and this past January there were just 1757 available homes!  There were 1000 fewer homes for sale in January, 2012 than in July of 2011.  That’s a huge difference.  In the first 7 weeks of 2012, the number hasn’t change much, remaining fairly stable.  Usually by the this time of the year, we’ve seen a jump in the number of homes for sale.

 
We expect this year to be a fast paced market for the homes that are priced well and show well.  We can already see the increase in activity with one of our listings.  We recently listed a home and 20 different groups came to the open house.  This means there are lots of buyers out there actively looking for a home.

 
I also think most people feel like the worst is behind us and it is safe to go out again and buy a home.  NPR had a piece with positive economic news on several fronts. Housing starts are up and unemployment is down.

 
The wrap up for January, 2012 Seattle-eastside real estate:

  • 26% fewer homes were on the market in January this year than in 2011.
  • The average time a home took to sell was 105 days.
  • Sales prices on average were just 9% below the seller’s original asking price.
  • 26.5%  percent of the homes for sale this January received offers and sold.

 
As in December, the actual number of homes sold did not change  much.  Last year 420 homes sold.  This year 453 sold.  The difference?  There was much more competition last year because there were 634 more homes on the market!  The lack of supply definitely contributes to a faster market.

 
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.

 

Bellevue Real EstateBellevue, WAEastside Real EstateFor BuyersFor SellersKing County Real EstateMarket StatisticsReal Estate January 19, 2012

2011 Ends With The Fewest Homes for Sale in 4 Years on Seattle’s Eastside

How Many Homes Sold on Seattle’s Eastside in December, 2011?

 
We have to go back before the bubble burst to February 2007 to find so few homes for sale on Seattle’s eastside!  There’s a healthy number of homes for sale on the eastside, 1897 at the close of December, so there are good choices for buyers.  With fewer homes on the market, it spurs the competition among buyers for the best homes and should help stabilize prices. In some neighborhoods, there aren’t any homes for sale right now.
 
Pricing is becoming more affordable for a new set of buyers who are coming to the market for the first time.  A mortgage payment that would have bought a home for $500,000 in 2008, would now cover the purchase of a home in the mid-$600,000s!
 
Here’s a snapshot of Seattle-Eastside real estate in December, 2011 compared to 2010:

  • 24% fewer homes were on the market.
  • The time it took to sell a home went from 129 days to 111 days this past December.
  • Sales prices were 8% below the seller’s original asking price, while in 2010 they averaged 10% below the asking price.
  • Eighteen percent of the homes for sale this December received offers and sold, while only 14% received offers in 2010.
  • 338 homes sold in 2011, while in December 2010, 351 homes received offers.

 
The actual number of homes sold did not change much, which, surprisingly, is almost always the case.   The difference was not in the number of sales, but in the number of homes for sale.  There were 597 fewer homes for sale at the end of 2011 than 2010.  When there are fewer homes for sale, there are fewer “for sale” signs out in neighborhoods.  The “sold” signs also pop up a lot faster.
 
When the supply increases, there’s increased competition and homes take longer to sell.   Most people think homes are not selling because there are more real estate signs and they stay posted in yards for a longer time. This is not the case.  Homes are selling, but there’s just more competition which makes it feel as if the market is slower.
 
The real difference then is the supply, the number of homes for sale.  If there’s a smaller supply the market will seem faster because these homes will sell faster.  If there is a larger supply, there is more competition and the market will seem slower because it takes longer to sell a home.  In both markets, though, the number of homes that sell does not vary all that much.  It is the Supply that varies and changes what we think is happening in the real estate market.  The above chart confirms this as you can see the supply changes far more dramatically than the number of sales, which are shown at the bottom of each month.
 
In my next piece, I’ll talk about how Seattle-eastside real estate should play out for the coming year.  Have a great 2012 and hope you are able to make it through this week’s snow.
 
Since real estate is neighborhood specific, if you’d like more information about your home, contact us, we’re here to help.
 
*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.