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How Was The Seattle-Eastside Condo Market in November, 2011?
Seattle Eastside Condo Sales Through November, 2011
There were more condo sales on the eastside with 156 sales over last year’s 125! There also were 21% fewer condos on the market than in 2010. More sales and fewer condos for sale is a good thing!
There were 867 condos for sale in November, with 156 of them receiving offers. Average market time was 118 days, one of the shortest market times of the year. Condos sold within 91% of the original asking price.
The median sales price declined by 11% from $250,000 to $233,000. Remember, though, this number includes median prices for all condos, including bank foreclosures and short sales.
Is this decline a true measure of the marketplace?
- The sales numbers for November only reflect the sales that happened last month. Looking at several months of activity will give us a more accurate read on the market, so it will be important to watch the activity over the next few months.)
- Distressed property sales bring the overall median pricing down.
Real estate, including condos has become more affordable because of the drop in value. This is the reality of the situation and is a boon to buyers who are hoping to make a move.
How are condos selling in your area?
How Was The Real Estate Market in your Seattle-Eastside City in November 2011?
If you lived in Kirkland and had your home for sale last month, the odds of it selling in November were 31%, the strongest absorption rate to be found on the eastside.* The homes in East Bellevue and Redmond areas around Microsoft had a 29% chance of selling. Chances of selling ranged from 11-22.5% in the other eastside cities.
Homes in East Bellevue and Redmond near Microsoft sold the fastest on Seattle’s eastside. On average, homes there sold in 2 months. Market time for the other eastside cities, ranged from 3 to 4 months.
This is reasonable market time, indicating a balanced market between buyers and sellers. A balanced market means there’s a more normal market. Some homes sold quickly and others stayed on the market for a long time. Some homes sold for full price and others sold at steep discounts.
The November Real Estate Map Showing a More Balanced Market Between Buyers and Sellers
The cities below are grouped together to follow our MLS areas (multiple listing service). This is how our statistics are reported.
How was real estate market in your Seattle-eastside city in November, 2011?
1. Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 31%.*
Median price decreased (y-o-y)** from $530,000 to $477,000.
188 homes were for sale.
A total of 58 homes sold.
Days on Market: 105
2. Redmond/East Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 29%.
Median sales price decreased to $418,000 from $527,000.
163 homes were for sale
A total of 48 homes sold.
Days on the market: 60
3. South Bellevue/Issaquah
The odds of selling a home were 22.5%.
Median price increased from $538,000 to $550,000.
267 homes were for sale.
A total of 60 homes sold.
Days on market: 98
4. Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 22%
Median pricing decreased from $540,000 to $530,000.
247 homes were for sale.
A total of 54 homes sold.
Days on Market: 104
4. (tie) Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 22%.
Median price was down from $451,000 to $394,000.
481 homes were for sale.
A total of 105 homes sold.
Days on Market: 114
5. The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 18%.
Median sales price decreased from $460,000 to $441,000.
There were 580 homes for sale.
A total of 104 homes sold.
Days on the market: 119
6. West Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 11%.
Median pricing decreased to $950,000 from $1,035,000.
127 homes were for sale.
A total of 14 homes sold.
Days on Market: 91
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.
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?
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.
You Snooze, You Lose, in This Seattle Eastside Real Estate Market
Brooks and I just sold a home in Redmond which had multiple offers. A contract was in hand, when the very next day I received phone calls from both an agent and a prospective buyer who wanted to see the home. They were a day late. It was gone. It was sold.
Here on the eastside, the market is doing well for the good homes, but not for all homes. These are the homes that are the best of the competition in terms of price, condition, style, floor plan and location.
One reason why the good homes are selling with multiple offers:
Less than 9000 properties are for sale in King County, for the first time in years. Supply is dwindling fast. If you compare the number of homes for sale with this time last year, 3000 fewer homes are on the market. As the year heads to a close, more sellers will take their homes off the market.
I expect to see December and January be good markets for sellers because of the decrease in competition. Quality homes will go fast, and possibly with multiple offers.
Does this mean it’s a bad market for buyers? No, there are still a lot of good homes for sale. Plus, it’s the most affordable market we’ve had in the Seattle area 17 years. With the lower interest rates, a mortgage is starting to rival rental costs.
So if you snooze, you can lose. Do you homework. Determine what’s most important to you. Is it the location, is it the good floor plan or a combination of many factors? Know the prices of homes in the area. Learn what’s selling and for what price. Know your wants and needs, study the market by visiting homes, and learn what sells well in the area.
If you do all these things. You won’t snooze and lose. You’ll know which homes work best for you and which are the best values. You can then jump in and buy a good home and not lose.
Is Now a Good time to Sell Your Seattle Eastside Home?
Is this a good time to sell your Seattle eastside home? If you’re a seller on Seattle’s eastside, the numbers are on your side. This is the second week in a row with less than 10,000 homes on the market in King County, a first for this year! The competition has pulled up the “for sale” sign, is battening down the hatches for the winter and planning for the holidays .
So plan your Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Don’t give the holidays up and don’t give up the idea of selling your home now if that’s what you want to do. With fewer homes on the market, your competition for buyers is far less. Plus, the buyers who are out during the holiday season are buyers who are serious about buying a home. They don’t have time to waste. They’re not casually looking for a home. They’re in a buying mode.
- How Low Can The Number Of King County Homes For Sale Go?
Seattle Eastside Condo Sales Keep Popping!
Seattle-Eastside Condo Sales through September, 2011
Seattle-eastside condo sales were still hot in September. Twenty-one percent of the condos for sale got offers for the third month in a row! There’s less for sale this month than in August and fewer condos actually sold, but the odds of selling were exactly the same. It’s exciting to see the sales numbers for the year keep zooming past last year’s sales. This year 70% more condos sold on the eastside than last year! This good news was coupled with 31% fewer condos on the market than in 2010.
There were 992 condos for sale in September, with 203 of them receiving offers. Average market time was 125 days vs. 151 days in September 2010.
What’s unique about this past month is only one eastside condo sale failed. Last month I reported 213 condo sales. Now it looks like only one sale failed and 212 of them stayed together! This presents a good, solid month of sales as typically up to 10% of the sales can fail.
Sales fail for many reasons. A condo may not pass inspection or an appraisal. The buyer may not get financing or the condo complex itself may not fit financing guidelines. This could be because there could be too many renters occupying units or there could be a pending lawsuit against the association. Situations such as this could affect the buyer’s ability to obtain a loan, even if the buyer is well qualified to buy. When obtaining financing for a condo, the condo and the association must also “qualify” in order for the loan to be approved.
How are condos selling in your area? Are you seeing problems with buyers obtaining financing?
The Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Market Feels Good!
Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Sales through September, 2011
Seattle’s eastside real estate market was very steady in September, 2011. It’s not dramatic with the highs and lows of the recent past, which is refreshing, plus eastside real estate sales are moving and moving well. It looks as if the peak of real estate sales for the year was back in May, when 24% of the available homes got offers. However, in September overall sales dropped only slightly, to 21%. The sales average of 21% means out of the 2713 homes for sale, 563 sold.
Real estate sales on the eastside improved dramatically when compared to last year. This means we’re experiencing a more normal, realistic market in 2011 than in 2010. There are fewer homes on the market and 33% more homes sold on the eastside this September when compared to last year. Our less volatile real estate market is our new normal and really is not bad at all!
On average, most homes were on the market for 90 days before they sold. Homes sold within 93% of the original asking price with the median sales price for the eastside at $526,000.
How Many Real Estate Sales Were in Your Seattle-Eastside Neighborhood in August,
Seattle-eastside real estate sales results were so similar during June, July, and August I could have posted the same report with just a few exceptions each month! Overall, 23% of the available homes sold in August, the same as June and July!
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Eastside+of+Seattle&aq=&sll=47.610377,-122.200679&sspn=0.123598,0.359459&vpsrc=0&g=Bellevue,+WA&ie=UTF8&hq=Eastside+of&hnear=Seattle,+King,+Washington&t=m&ll=47.615847,-122.302272&spn=0.338201,0.11521&output=embed&w=425&h=350]
The only significant change happened in West Bellevue and East Bellevue and the Microsoft area around Redmond. Both these areas had fewer home sales in August than in July. It was most noticeable in the neighborhoods around Microsoft where sales have been consistently strong. In July, 38% of the homes sold and in August the sales numbers dropped back to 24%. The area still had the best return on the eastside, but it was more in line with other eastside neighborhoods.
There’s a good real estate market out there. The last time we saw a similar real estate market was back in the years between 1998-2002. The market during those years was what we considered to be a “normal” market, not a crazy market. Once again, we see a more “normal” market today.
How many homes sold in August, 2011 in your neighborhood?
(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%)
The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 21%.
Median sales price dropped: $479,895 to $475,000.
There were 725 homes for sale.
A total of 174 homes sold.
Redmond/East Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 24%.
Median sales price decreased from $494,900 to $479,950.
207 homes were for sale
A total of 60 homes sold.
South Bellevue/Issaquah
The odds of selling a home were 22%.
Median price decreased from $550,000 to $512,225
367 homes were for sale.
A total of 94 homes sold.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 23%.
Median price was down from $415,000 to $381,650.
589 homes were for sale.
A total of 148 homes sold.
Kirkland
The odds of selling a home was 22%.
Median price decreased from $641,000 to $595,000.
280 homes were for sale.
A total of 73 homes sold.
West Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 17%.
Median pricing decreased from $869,000 to $754,500.
169 homes were for sale.
A total of 40 homes sold.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 21%
Median pricing decreased from $549,950 to $534,900.
319 homes were for sale.
A total of 79 homes sold.
If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.
Real Estate Sales on Seattle's Eastside Are The Best in Years!
Seattle-eastside real estate sales through August, 2011
The Seattle-eastside real estate market is only getting better and better! August home sales beat July and were way ahead of last August. This August was one of the best real estate markets in years!
Real estate sales were hopping. Thirty-three percent more homes received accepted offers this August than August of 2010. Almost 20% fewer homes were on the market, so less supply + more demand equaled more sales. In August, 22% of the homes for sale on Seattle’s eastside got offers. This means out of the 2811 homes for sale, 609 homes sold. On average, most homes sold within 85 days.
In King County, the number of homes for sale dropped below 10,000 for the first time since last May. Here on the eastside, we’re also seeing the lowest number of homes for sale. More than likely, the peak number of homes for sale was 2879 back in June.
Last month I questioned whether the surge in real estate sales would continue because of the volatility in the stock market. With August sales numbers, we’re seeing the most robust market we’ve seen in a long time. The stock market didn’t put a damper on eastside home sales.
Was your market affected by the stock market “roller coaster?”
There's a Good Real Estate Market in Seattle and on the Eastside
Image via Wikipedia
The real estate market in Seattle and on the eastside is doing well. The Seattle Times just published a great article about something all of us Realtors working in the trenches already know. It’s been good this year and has only gotten better as the year progressed. The article in The Times compares this year to last, but, in fact, this year is the best the real estate market has seen for the past 4 years.
I see the improvement in the real estate market every time I’m in front of the computer checking out the market activity in the NWMLS. Almost every day the number of sales surpasses the number of new listings, always a good thing. Showing activity is pretty consistent for many listings and, if it isn’t, then a home is overpriced. There have been homes selling with (gasp!) multiple offers. And last, but not least, sales numbers are higher, which means buyers are finding homes they’re happy with and think are a good enough value to make an offer. (Note: My comments relate only to those listings that are priced right as there are still many homes languishing on the market.)
The number of homes on the market has already reached its peak for the year. The number just dropped below 11,000 for the first time since May 9th of this year. We’re passed the peak in the number of homes for sale as the peak almost always falls in July of each year. This year the peak happened during the last week in June when there were 11,453 properties for sale in King County.
I expect the stronger real estate market to continue through the year. Many people are surprised when I tell them that September and October can be strong months to sell a home. Of course, our beautiful weather may slow us down for this week as people continue to play in the sun, but I do expect the fall to be an active real estate market.
I’ll be posting more data on the August real estate market as the information becomes available, so stay tuned.
What is your real estate market like now? Have you seen an improvement this year?
