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How Many Homes Sold in Your Seattle Eastside Neighborhood in April, 2011?
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How many homes sold in April, 2011 in your neighborhood?
The increasing number of home sales on Seattle’s eastside continues, despite what the news media is saying. Every month of this year has had a big increase in the number of home sales over the previous month. It would be great if our news reporting could be more balanced. Our real estate market is more balanced, so let’s hope the media figures it out! One local news source did peg the market fairly well.
Right now, Seattle’s eastside has the most “normal” real estate market that we’ve seen in years. A “normal” market means everything is happening from homes selling the minute they hit the market to homes taking months to sell and at reduced prices. The “hot” homes are selling. “Hot” homes are great values with a good price tag, are staged and ready to go. The homes that are not “hot” are taking a long time to sell and go through several price reductions before getting an offer.
The other issue working in favor of a more positive real estate market is that in every area on the eastside, except Sammamish, there are fewer homes on the market. Less supply=more demand.
(Click on the cities below to see real estate trends for the past 5 years. You’ll find the median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales went up or down. 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 20%.
Median sales price dropped: $514,950 to $499,900.
There were 701 homes for sale.
A total of 161 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 32%.
Median sales price decreased by 11% to $400,000 from $450,000.
176 homes were for sale
A total of 59 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 24%.
Median price decreased from $599,900 to $568,800.
322 homes were for sale.
A total of 91 homes sold.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 26%.
Median price was down from $409,500 to $397,000.
559 homes were for sale.
A total of 160 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 30%.
Median price decreased from $575,000 to $538,500Z .
282 homes were for sale.
A total of 94 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 22%.
Median pricing was down from $849,000 to $649,995.
170 homes were for sale.
A total of 45 homes sold.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 23%
Median pricing decreased from $514,995 to $462,475.
299 homes were for sale.
A total of 80 homes sold.
If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.
The Positive Real Estate Market on Seattle's Eastside Continued in April, 2011
Seattle Eastside Real Estate Sales Through April, 2011
Seattle-eastside real estate is looking good! The trend continues to be the most positive in the last four years. This positive market means this a good, but very realistic market. Some homes are selling within a week, others take longer, and some do not sell. In reality, it’s a balanced market in which the homes that sell quickly do so because of price and/or condition.
The usual spring spike in the number of homes for sale has also not happened so far this year. Last year in April there almost 450 more homes for sale on Seattle’s eastside than this past April.
In April 2011, there were 2634 homes for sale and 654 had offers. The number 464 in the last column on the chart shows how many homes sold and closed in April. In order for these sales to close in April, the offers would been accepted in February or March with an April closing date.
The absorption rate, the number of homes that sold during a particular month when compared to the number for sale, was 25%. One-fourth of the Seattle eastside homes for sale sold in April.
Are you seeing less “for sale” signs in your neighborhood? What about “sold” signs?
How Many Real Estate Sales Were in Your Seattle-Eastside Neighborhood in March, 2011?
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How many homes sold in March, 2011 in your neighborhood?
The number of home sales for the eastside took a huge jump over last month’s total. Each month of 2011 has seen a big increase in sales.
Are the sales stronger than March of 2010? No, they’re not. But remember, in March, 2010, buyers were scrambling to buy to get the tax credit. This March, buyers are out buying because they’re ready to buy, not because a tax credit is dangling in front of them. It’s been great to see the amount of activity in each neighborhood on the eastside. In reality, it’s the hot homes that are selling. “Hot” homes are great values with a good price tag and are staged and ready to go. The homes that are not “hot” are taking a long time to sell and go through a lot of price reductions before getting an offer.
(Click on the cities below to see real estate trends for the past 5 years. You’ll find the median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales went up or down. 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 23%.
Median sales price dropped: $497,500 to $466,500.
There were 637 homes for sale.
A total of 160 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 29%.
Median sales price increased by .5% to $467,250 from $464,995.
166 homes were for sale
A total of 64 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 32.5%.
Median price increased from $539,450 to $571,470.
281 homes were for sale.
A total of 100 homes sold.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 27%.
Median price was down from $396,725 to $359,900.
556 homes were for sale.
A total of 175 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 25%.
Median price increased to $559,000 from $515,000, an 8.5% increase.
278 homes were for sale.
A total of 84 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 25%.
Median pricing was down from $921,500 to $780,000.
169 homes were for sale.
A total of 46 homes sold.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 24%
Median pricing decreased from $529,450 to $461,950.
287 homes were for sale.
A total of 86 homes sold.
If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.
How Many Real Estate Sales Were On Seattle's Eastside in March, 2011?
Seattle Eastside Real Estate Sales Through March 2011
I see a trend happening in eastside real estate. The Seattle Times was wondering if there was a trend being established in Seattle area real estate. It’s happening on the eastside. This trend started in December of last year. Since that time, the number of homes selling each month has increased. Home sales have almost doubled from December’s 351 sales to March’s 657 sales. That’s a huge increase, a 47% increase in real estate sales! It sure sounds like an upward trend to me.
Match this news with the fact that the number of eastside homes for sale has only increased by 150 homes since December and there’s a good real estate market on the eastside. Last year, there almost 440 more homes for sale in March.
In March 2011, there were 2540 homes for sale and 657 had offers. The number 452 in the last column on the chart shows how many homes sold and closed that month. In order for these sales to close in March, the offers would have happened in January or February.
So far this year, we haven’t seen the number of homes for sale jump up by much. But if many more homes come on the market, the upward trend in home sales could slow down. An increase in the number of homes for sale could have an impact on how quickly homes sell.
Are you seeing more sold signs in your neighborhood?
How Many Real Estate Sales Were in Your Seattle-Eastside City in February 2011?
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How well did homes sell in February, 2011 in your neighborhood?
(Click on the cities below to see real estate trends for the past 5 years. You’ll find the median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales went up or down. 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%)
Thirty-five percent of the homes for sale around Microsoft in Redmond and East Bellevue sold last month. That’s an incredible number and one we haven’t seen for years. Overall, February was the most positive month for eastside home sales in the past several years!
The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 23%.
Median sales price dropped: $499,995 to $489,990. Home values have been more stable here than anywhere else on the eastside.
There were 605 homes for sale.
A total of 153 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 35%.
Median sales price increased by 2% to $430,000 to $439,950.
157 homes were for sale
A total of 57 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 25.5%.
Median price decreased from $579,990 to $500,000.
283 homes were for sale.
A total of 83 homes sold.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 24.5%.
Median price was down from $397,000 to $375,000.
549 homes were for sale.
A total of 150 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 20%.
Median price increased to $542,725 from $537,500, a 1% increase.
251 homes were for sale.
A total of 60 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 18%.
Median pricing was down from $981,750 to $899,000.
174 homes were for sale.
A total of 37 homes sold.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 16%
Median pricing decreased from $474,950 to $450,000.
293 homes were for sale.
A total of 52 homes sold.
If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.
How Many Real Estate Sales were on Seattle's Eastside in February 2011?
Seattle Eastside Residential Real Estate Sales Through February, 2011
Despite what the media is reporting, February Seattle-eastside real estate sales were the strongest we’ve seen in a very long time. If you look all the way back to December, 2009, there were more real estate sales in February than any other month, except March and April of last year. More homes sold last March and April because of the tax credit. However, this February’s higher sales numbers had nothing to do with a tax credit, but everything to do with buyers being more ready and willing to buy a home. In February there were 2446 homes for sale and 565 homes sold.
The other good news is the number of homes for sale last month was still low when compared to the other months shown on the chart. Because of this, there was a higher percentage of homes selling, 23% in fact.
So far this year, real estate sales on the eastside of Seattle are trending upward. Because of the strong economic base found in such eastside cities as Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Issaquah, I believe this trend will continue, at least for the near future.
If the number of homes for sale jumps up, it could have an impact on how quickly homes will sell. If we stay with lower levels of inventory, it should help the homes on the market sell more quickly. But if we end up with numbers like we often do in the summer when we have had 14000+ homes in King County on the market, sales will slow down.
Are you seeing more real estate sales in your neighborhood?
Top 7 Reasons Real Estate Sales Fail to Close
I’m gearing up to do monthly statistics on how the real estate market is doing on Seattle’s eastside. Every month I report on how many homes have sold and I also mention how many real estate sales have failed. Contracts on homes close all the time, but there’s always a certain number each month that don’t close. There are many reasons why this can happen.
Here are 7 of the top reasons home sales fail to close:
Buyer rejects the seller’s disclosure form. The disclosure form, form 17, is a 5 page document delivered to the buyer no later than 3 days after a purchase and sale agreement (the contract) is mutually agreed upon by both parties. The buyer has 3 business days to review the form. The disclosure form covers many issues about the home, including defects, remodeling, permits, whether the home is on septic or sewer and hooked up to public water or on a well. If the buyer disapproves of anything in the form, the buyer has the right to terminate the purchase and sale agreement.
The inspection falls through. Inspections fall through because there’s something structurally wrong with the house. The structural problem can’t be fixed, the seller refuses to fix it or the buyer no longer wants to buy the home because of the problem. Sometimes the repairs requested can be remedied, but the buyer and seller don’t come to agreement on which repairs will be done or how to do the repairs. The buyer can also terminate a contract based on the inspection without giving a reason to the seller.
The buyer walks over neighborhood review. Some offers include a clause giving the buyer an opportunity to check out schools, crime, views, and other neighborhood issues in the 3 business days after an offer is signed. If the buyer finds something they don’t like about the neighborhood, they can terminate the agreement and walk away.
Good old fashioned buyer’s remorse. Buyers get cold feet and decide not to buy the home. Buyers have the right to serve the seller a termination notice, get their earnest money returned, and continue to look for a home without giving the seller a specific reason. This can happen only during specific times outlined in the contract. For example, the buyer can simply terminate the contract during a neighborhood review or the review of the disclosure form.
A low appraisal on the home. The home sells for $500,000, but the bank appraiser says the home is only worth $485,000. The seller doesn’t agree to the lower purchase price to the appraisal price, so the buyer can choose not to buy the home.
Running up a credit card bill. The buyer buys a new car before closing the sale on the new house, running up a credit card bill. Incurring more debt before closing can mean the buyer no longer qualifies for the loan.
Death of a buyer or seller. I recently heard of this happening in a sale on the eastside. It happened during one of my closings a few years ago. The seller passed away during the closing period. Luckily, the heirs saw the sale through. Heirs can contest a sale if it’s in process.
It sounds pretty daunting when you read this list, but the reality is most months only 1 or 2% of the home sales fail to close. Clearly, the majority of homes that sell go all the way to the closing table.
By the way, each state has different contracts with different clauses, so what happens in Washington State real estate contracts stays in Washington State. This post is not legal advice. If you have questions or concerns about real estate contracts, you should consult an attorney.
What are some of the other reasons home purchases fail to close? There are many more reasons out there. Do you know of some unique situations that caused real estate sales to fail?
How Many Real Estate Sales Were on Seattle’s Eastside in January 2011 Compared to 2010?
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How did January, 2010 compare to January, 2011 in your neighborhood?
(Click on the cities below to see real estate trends for the past 5 years. You’ll find the median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales went up or down. 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 18%.
Median sales price hardly dropped: $499,900 to $493,975. Home values have been more stable here than anywhere else on the eastside.
The number of homes for sale increased by 4% and the number of home sales decreased by 4%.
A total of 118 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 28%.
Median sales price decreased by 9% to $409,925 from $450,000.
The number of homes for sale was down by 16% and sales were down by 14%.
A total of 54 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 19.5%.
Median price decreased from $559,900 to $460,000.
The number of homes for sale dropped by 10% and sales were down by 30%.
A total of 63 homes sold.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 18%.
Median price was down from $389,725 to $359,900.
The number of homes for sale declined by 3% and sales were down by 8%.
A total of 105 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 18%.
Median price increased to $506,950 from $499,950, a 1% increase.
The number of homes for sale declined by 19% and sales were down by 35%.
A total of 52 homes sold.
The odds of selling a home were 21%.
Median pricing was up from $899,000 to $1,000,000.
The number of homes for sale decreased by 11% and sales increased by 48%.
The total of 40 homes sold.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 20%
Median pricing decreased from $524,990 to $376,250.
The number of homes for sale decreased by 5% and sales decreased by 8%.
A total of 52 homes sold.
If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.
Don't Let Carbon Monoxide Kill You
A friend of mine from college just died. He died from a gas leak in his home. Apparently some gas had escaped which killed him and sickened others. He was the only one who didn’t make it. This was a sad and needless death.
This was not an isolated incident. I wish it were.
When I told the story about my friend’s death to an acquaintance, she relayed a story about a family who is now brain damaged from exposure to carbon monoxide in their home.
This is serious stuff.
If you do one maintenance item for your home this year, have your furnace inspected.
If you buy one thing for your home, make it a carbon monoxide detector. Hardware stores are a good place to find the detectors.
Some important tips for buying and installing a detector:
Detecting CO
- When buying a CO detector, check for the UL approved label.
- Digital display models show the CO level, rather than simply beeping.
- Install CO detectors in a central area on every floor and near sleeping areas.
- Detectors should be placed at least five feet above the ground, as CO rises.
- Hard-wired and plug-in models won’t work during a power outage.
- Like smoke detectors, batteries need to be replaced each year.
- CO detectors lose sensitivity over time and should be replaced every five years.
Source: Consumer Report 2005
Here are some tips from The CDC, The Center for Disease Control:
How can I prevent CO poisoning from my home appliances?
- Have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.
- Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters (catalytic) indoors. Although these heaters don’t have a flame, they burn gas and can cause CO to build up inside your home, cabin, or camper.
- If you smell an odor from your gas refrigerator’s cooling unit have an expert service it. An odor from the cooling unit of your gas refrigerator can mean you have a defect in the cooling unit. It could also be giving off CO.
- When purchasing gas equipment, buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as the American Gas Association or Underwriters’ Laboratories.
- Install a battery-operated CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.
How do I vent my gas appliances properly?
- All gas appliances must be vented so that CO will not build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
- Never burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isn’t vented.
- Have your chimney checked or cleaned every year. Chimneys can be blocked by debris. This can cause CO to build up inside your home or cabin.
- Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum, or something else. This kind of patch can make CO build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
- Horizontal vent pipes to fuel appliances should not be perfectly level. Indoor vent pipes should go up slightly as they go toward outdoors. This helps prevent CO or other gases from leaking if the joints or pipes aren’t fitted tightly.
There are more useful tips on the CDC website for times when the electricity is out, as an example.
Soon, in Washington State homes will be required to have a carbon monoxide detector, but don’t wait until then. You could be playing with your life.
What's The Worst Time to be on the Market in the Seattle Area?
Weekly List of King County Homes for Sale in 2010
It’s July! Why July? Because that’s the time of year when the largest number of homes and condos are on the market.
Are you surprised? So many times I hear from people they’re waiting until the summer to sell, when school is out. But it’s not the best time. If you look at the chart above, the peak of the competition, when the most number of homes and condos were on the market, was at the end of July. At that time 14,639 homes were on the market.
This year starts out with 10,008 properties on the market, which, if we follow typical yearly patterns, means the first of the year is one of the best times to sell a home. There’s so much less competition. In fact, there are 32% less homes on the market now when compared to July of last year.
Was 2010 unique? No, this is the typical pattern we see every year, no matter the type of real estate market. For example, here’s how the peak of 2009 looked:
7-27-09 13,861
The peak of the homes for sale in the Seattle area real estate market was the exact same week in 2009 and 2010.
So, if you’d like to make a move this year, please don’t wait until the summer. That’s when everyone else is going to put their homes on the market.
As soon as the statistics are available for the time of the year when the most homes sold, I’ll share that, too.
If you are thinking of selling your home, feel free to contact me to talk about how to position your home to get the best possible price given current market conditions. But contact me sooner, rather than later this year! Have a great 2011.
