How Strong Were June, 2011 Real Estate Sales on Seattle's Eastside?

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.