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.

 

 

Eastside Real EstateFor SellersKing County Real EstateMarket StatisticsReal Estate December 12, 2011

Was There Any "Good" in November’s Real Estate News on Seattle’s Eastside?

 

How Many Homes Sold on Seattle's Eastside in November, 2011?

How Many Homes Sold on Seattle's Eastside in November, 2011?

 

If you read the news about Seattle real estate, it could make you crazy!  It’s hard to determine what’s true and what is hype.  There’s some tough news that dominates and then there is some news that is actually good.  You know how it is, bad news always travels faster than good news, no matter what the topic.  Our real estate news is a mixed bag, but it’s good to know it’s not all bad news.   So let’s deal with the “bad” news first, since that seems to be most people’s hot button. And, by the way, if you read beyond the headlines, it may not be as bad as it seems.

 

True, our prices are down.  That’s the elephant in the room.  The “king” of the bad news.  There is no getting around it.  But if you look at the pricing issue more closely, it’s not as dire as it seems Take out the distressed sales and prices for individual home sellers are down, but not as much.

 

• Bank-owned houses accounted for 20 percent of all King County sales in November, up from 14 percent a year earlier. Those houses sold for a median price of $177,000, down 18 percent from $216,000 in November 2010.

• The median price of short-sales houses dropped 17 percent, from $305,000 to $260,000.

• But other, “nondistressed” sales saw a much smaller price decline — 2.5 percent, from $399,000 to $389,000.*

 

Prices are down, but depending on the area, not as badly as one would think.  The eastside is one of the areas where it is not as bad because people are still moving here for jobs and buying homes.  If you look at the chart above, over 400 homes have sold on Seattle’s eastside each month this year.  This November saw higher sales than last November.

 

The good news for Seattle-eastside real estate:

  •  24% fewer homes were on the market in November this year than in 2010.
  • The time it takes to sell a home went from 106 days last November to 60 days this November.
  • Sales prices on average were just 4% below the seller’s original asking price this year, while last year they averaged 7% below the asking price.
  • Twenty-nine percent of the homes for sale this past November received offers and sold, while only 19% received offers in 2010
  • There’s no getting around that, but with less homes on the market, it spurs the competition among buyers for the best homes.
  • Pricing is becoming more affordable for a new set of buyers who are coming to the market for the first time.

 

Truthfully, the actual number of homes sold did not change all that much.  Last year 435 homes sold.  This year 458 sold.  The difference?  There was much more competition last year because there were 342 more homes on the market.

So remember,  look at all the facts, not just the headlines when talking about real estate.  Review the data that applies to your specific neighborhood to make a decision about the market.

 

What’s happening in your neighborhood?  Is there any good news mixed in with all the negativity about the real estate market?

 

*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.

Just for FunNot Real EstateSeattle August 2, 2011

Playing Tourist in Seattle and on the Eastside on a Beautiful Summer Weekend

I played tour guide and tourist in Seattle and on the eastside last weekend.  I had family visiting me who had never been out to the Northwest.  So I donned by tour guide guise and off we went.  It was the perfect time to do this as the weather was just gorgeous and lots of fun “stuff’ was happening.

We started first at the Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park.   The park is a fabulous, dynamic place with interesting landscaping, views, and world-class sculpture.  There are terrific views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.  Plus, you get to see a lot of the harbor traffic.  On Saturday, there were three huge cruise liners docked and ready to pick up passengers for a cruise to Alaska.
Olympic Sculpture Park-The Eagle

The Calder at Olympic Sculpture Park

Seattle's 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.

Seattle's Pike Place Market

Saturday Crowds at Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market-Seattle

Seattle's Pike Place Market

Berries at Seattle's Pike Place Market

Gorgeous Berries

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

Expensive Truffles at Seattle's Pike Place Market

$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.

Seattle's Ballard Locks

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.

Bellevue Arts Museum Fair

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?