Real Estate Sales Continued to be Strong on Seattle's Eastside in July, 2011

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Sales Through July, 2011

The chart above speaks for itself.  July real estate sales were going strong on Seattle’s eastside.  More homes sold in July than in any  month since May, 2010. 

Will this surge in real estate sales continue?  Since the news regarding the stock market from last week, it remains to be seen if August will hold up to the sales growth we’ve seen since December of last year.

The number of properties for sale in King County still remains low compared to the last few summers when King County had over 14,000 properties for sale.   As of August 8th, there were 11,091 properties for sale in King County.  Here on the eastside, there were 2863 available properties.   If you compare the number of homes for sale on the Eastside this July to last July, there were 17% less homes and condos on the market this year.

In July there were 2863 homes for sale and 646 of these homes received offers and sold.  The absorption rate, the number of homes that sold during a month compared to the number for sale, was 22%. 

But what’s also important to note is 12% of the sales from June failed.   I had reported 661 sales in June, but this month I see only 587 of them stayed together.

The bottom line is more homes are selling than previously, but it’s also hard to keep the sales together.  Failed sales can be the result of poor inspections,  trouble with the buyer’s financing, an appraisal that does not agree with the sales price or a buyer getting cold feet and backing out.

How is the real estate market doing in your area?  Do you see similar trends?