Local Home Sales Reaching 10-year High

Temperatures around Western Washington were not the only thing sizzling during June. Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported 11,453 pending sales last month, the highest volume since August 2005 when members notched 11,546 mutually accepted offers. Last month also marked the fourth consecutive month of 11,000-plus pending transactions.

MLS members credit first-time buyers, an influx of relocating workers, and escalating rents for part of the surge.

Pent-up demand triggering record pace of home sales around Western Washington

Northwest Multiple Listing Service members notched a record high level of pending sales during April, surpassing the year-ago volume by nearly 1,800 transactions. Both closed sales and prices also surged last month as the spring market kicked into high gear.

Buyer confidence and buyer ability to purchase are fueling activity, suggested Ken Anderson, the managing broker and owner of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympia Realty. “Long building pent-up demand is being unleashed,” he commented.

MLS members reported an 18.7 percent year-over-year increase in pending sales, with the volume of mutually accepted offers rising from 9,590 transactions to 11,384. For the four-county Puget Sound region members logged 8,671 pending sales to top the 8,000 mark for only the second time in the past 16 years.

Closed sales and prices also accelerated, according to Northwest MLS statistics. Across the 23 counties covered by the report there were 7,696 closed sales. That total represents a 24.3 percent increase from the year-ago volume of 6,190 closings. Within the four county region, Pierce County experienced a jump of nearly 38 percent in closed sales compared to a year ago, followed by Snohomish County with a 35 percent increase, prompting one MLS director to comment, “That is super amazing.”

“We are still very clearly in the midst of a seller’s market and unless we see a significant increase in listings, it will remain that way for the foreseeable future,” remarked OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate. Jacobi and other brokers reiterated the dire need for listings.

Members added 11,495 new listings to inventory during April, but brisk sales kept supply tight and well below the level of a year ago. At the end of April, the MLS reported 18,132 listings of single family homes and condominiums in its database, a drop of more than 15 percent from the year-ago total of 21,390.

Compared to March, inventory at the end of April improved by 6.6 percent, but pending sales jumped 13.7 percent from the previous month.

“We’re in desperate need of inventory so I hope to see an increase in listings as we move further into the late spring/early summer,” stated Jacobi.

Northwest MLS figures show less than 2.4 months of supply at the end of April, down from the March figure of 2.5 months and down from a year ago when there was about 3.5 months of supply. Inventory is especially tight in King County, with 1.3 months of supply, and Snohomish County, with about 1.5 months. Many industry analysts use a range of four-to-six months as an indicator of a balanced market.

Prices on last month’s closed sales were up 12.4 percent. The median price for April’s sales of single family homes and condos was $309,000, which compares to the year-ago price of $275,000. For single family homes only (excluding condos), the median price rose from $287,500 to $320,000 for a gain of 11.3 percent. Condo prices jumped nearly 13.8 percent system-wide.

In King County, where homes fetch the highest prices, the median price of last month’s sales of single family homes was $480,000. That reflects a gain of 11.5 percent from the year ago price of $430,500. King County condo prices increased about 8.8 percent from a year ago, rising from $250,000 to $272,000.

“What’s available and that looks at least ‘pretty good’ is selling,” according to MLS director Dick Beeson, principal managing broker at RE/MAX Professionals in Tacoma. Commenting on the latest MLS statistics, he said, “What we have in the Greater Puget Sound real estate market is too many buyers chasing too few homes.”

Beeson cautioned buyers against “playing games” with sellers. “The new normal for buyers is that the quest for the perfect home may have to wait,” suggested Beeson. “You should buy now, get in the mix, buy a home and build equity for a future decision,” he advised. “Don’t wait to pay more for the same home next year.”

Brokers do not appear to be worried about a housing bubble.

“Some are talking about the potential for another housing bubble given the lack of homes for sale and the bullishness of buyers in bidding up properties,” acknowledged Jacobi. “For now,” he said, “I believe there are sufficient safeguards in place to keep this from happening.”

Anderson agreed. “With pending home sales in Thurston County at record levels I am often asked if we are repeating the problems the last run-up caused,” he stated, adding, “There are two important differences in this market. There is not the overbuilding we saw before, and the buyers are truly qualified for today’s mortgages. Both facts suggest we won’t have a problem with the oversupply that contributed to the recent downturn. This time the market improvement is built on solid footings.”

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 23,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 23 counties in Washington state.

Frenzied Local Home Market Frustrating Home Buyers

Buyer anxiety is rising as the pace of home sales is faster than brokers are able to replenish inventory, according to members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Figures just released for March show 11,408 pending sales during the month while only 10,505 sellers listed their homes for sale during the same period.

The market imbalance is played out with rising prices, an acute shortage of listings -- particularly in areas close to job centers -- and bidding wars.

The volume of new listings (10,505) added during the month increased 9.4 percent compared to a year ago, but fell short of satisfying demand in many areas. At month end, inventory in the MLS service area that encompasses 23 counties was down almost 14 percent, dropping from 19,736 listings to 17,007. Twelve counties reported double-digit declines from this time a year ago.

Measured by months of supply, there is about 2.5 months of inventory area-wide. In King County there is slightly more than 1.3 months of supply and in Snohomish County supply stands at just under 1.7 months.

Stiff competition is reflected in part by rising prices – but MLS officials emphasized sellers still need to be realistic.

Northwest MLS figures show prices on last month’s closed sales of single family homes and condos jumped more than 6.7 percent compared to the same month a year ago. The median price on last month’s closed sales area-wide was $292,500 which compares to the year ago figure of $274,000.

Home prices were considerably higher in San Juan and King counties. For the 26 completed sales in San Juan County during March, (one more than a year ago), the price jumped 25.5 percent, rising from $400,000 to $501,900. King County prices rose about 8.8 percent, increasing from $378,000 to $411,200.

Prices on single family homes (excluding condos) rose about 6.8 percent system-wide, increasing from a year-ago figure of $282,000 to $301,143. Within the four county Puget Sound region, Snohomish reported the sharpest hike at nearly 8 percent. The median sales price for a home in that county was $340,000 last month; twelve months ago it was $314,975. Buyers can expect to pay about 30 percent more in King County where a single family home that sold last month fetched a median price of $440,250.

MLS members logged 6,769 completed transactions of single family homes and condos during March to outgain the same period a year ago by 1,016 transactions for a 17.7 percent increase. Of that total, condos accounted for about 14 percent of the volume. The median price on last month’s condo sales was $240,000, which was about 9 percent higher than a year ago. In King County, the median sales price was $269,600.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 23,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 23 counties in Washington state.

Early Spring Brings Bumper Crop of Homebuyers Who Face Inventory Drought

Favorable weather and restored confidence are propelling home buying activity around Western Washington to the highest level in nearly a decade, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service sources.

“The pent-up demand being unleashed has rocketed pending sales back to the levels of our record year in 2006,” said Ken Anderson, president/designated broker at Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty in Tumwater. Buyers have come off the sidelines, the former MLS director commented, adding “At the same time, homes for sale are near a 10-year low.”

Northwest MLS figures show pending sales system-wide surged 18.7 percent in February compared to the same month a year ago, rising from 7,247 mutually accepted offers to 8,599. Twenty of the 23 counties in the service area reported double-digit increases in pending sales.

Those numbers might be even higher given the ample supply of buyers, but inventory is far from ample.

“Listings are flying off the shelf faster than allergy medicine in this early spring market,” quipped MLS director Frank Wilson, the branch managing broker at John L. Scott, Inc. Poulsbo.  He said the brisk activity is posing challenges for buyers. “They will probably make several offers before one is accepted and they just need to expect to be competing with others,” he cautioned.

Northwest MLS broker-members added more news listings to the database during February than 12 months ago (7,852 last month versus 7,234), but the higher sales volume kept inventory levels well below year-ago totals. The MLS reported 16,946 total active listings at month end. That compares to a total of 19,273 for the same month a year ago for a drop of about 12 percent.

John Deely, principal managing broker at Coldwell Banker Bain, also commented on the imbalanced market. “The early spring weather has brought a bumper crop of buyers to a market experiencing a drought of listings.” The MLS director said activity in Seattle continues to move “at the fastest pace in memory.”  It is not uncommon for weekend open houses to draw upwards of 100 group visits and bidding competitions, he reported.”Multiple offers rule the day, with many bids at 20 percent over well-priced properties around Greater Seattle.”

For the 4,761 sales of single family homes and condominiums that closed during February, the median price was $280,000.  That reflects a gain of about 6.5 percent from the year-ago sales price of $263,000. The volume of closed sales jumped about 13.5 percent from a year ago. Brokers reported 4,761 closed sales last month, which compares to 4,196 for the same month a year ago.

 

For single family homes, which accounted for 86 percent of all sales, the median price system-wide jumped about 7.4 percent, rising from $270,000 to $289,925.

A comparison of the four-county Puget Sound region shows single family homes in King County had the highest median price at $429,900 (up 6 percent from a year ago), followed by Snohomish County where February’s completed transactions commanded a median price of $330,00 for a year-over-year gain of nearly 4.8 percent. Kitsap’s median price was $238,903; in Pierce it was $233,000.

Condo prices increased 6.7 percent year-over-year, from $215,500 to $230,000. The total number of sales increased 6.7 percent.

“February was a very robust month,” observed Gary O’Leyar, a past chairman of the Northwest MLS board. “If there is any real estate market slowdown, we’re not seeing it,” he said, suggesting doubters look at King County’s Eastside corridor for new or newer high end homes in the $900,000-plus price range.

Northwest MLS figures show 68 homes sold for $900,000-plus in its Eastside segment during the first two months of 2015, outgaining the same period a year ago when brokers sold 36 such homes. “Be prepared to get in line to get into the new home pipeline,” O’Leyar advised.

The market for waterfront homes also appears to be gaining momentum.

“This is the year for waterfront homes in Kitsap,” reported Frank Wilson, noting they have been the last to recover price wise. “Values for waterfront homes were pretty flat in 2014 and they should start appreciating in 2015,” he said. “In the future, buyers will say ‘I wish I would have bought a waterfront home back when they were affordable.’ Today they are affordable.”

“Undeniably, our unusual spring-like weather has not only fueled and jump started an early allergy season, but the market as well,” suggested Diedre Haines, Coldwell Banker Bain’s principal managing broker for South Snohomish County. Characterizing the market as “exceedingly active,” she noted garden shops, home improvement stores, furniture stores and other retailers that sell home-related items are also experiencing high levels of activity.

Dick Beeson, the principal managing broker at RE/MAX Professionals in Tacoma and a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors, believes the market is adjusting to scarce inventory and the abundance in the buyer population in the form of multiple offers and frustrated buyers and sellers. “But buyers will not be dissuaded,” he believes, in part because they anticipate hikes in interest rates. “Sellers are frustrated because they can’t find replacement homes. Some won’t list their homes because of fear of not finding a suitable replacement,” Beeson believes. “This cycle will work its way out as spring brings more inventory, hopefully, and sellers give in and say they trust there will be a home for them somewhere,” Beeson stated.

Like Beeson, brokers around the Northwest MLS service area are clamoring for listings:

• “Hopefully, more potential sellers will seize this market window of opportunity as a good time to sell before the regional real estate market does finally start to level out and take a breath; which it will eventually.” -- Gary O’Leyar, Berkshire Hathaway HomeService Signature Properties.


• “We desperately need inventory. Potential sellers of all shapes, sizes, price ranges and locations should be contacting their brokers and jumping off the proverbial fence.” -- Diedre Haines, Coldwell Banker Bain.


• “Sellers haven’t experienced a market this favorable since those frothy days (of 10 years ago). With home prices now consistently on the rise, savvy sellers looking to trade up know this is the time to make that move.”  -- Ken Anderson, Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 23,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 23 counties in Washington state.

Despite tight inventory, Northwest MLS brokers complete more than 77,000 sales valued at nearly $28 billion during 2014

This is the official media release from the NWMLS - Northwest Multiple Listing Service and originally appeared at A New Day Real Estate.

Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported 77,276 closed sales during 2014 to outgain the prior year’s volume by 1,759 transactions for a 2.3 percent increase.

Measured by dollars, last year’s sales of single family homes and condominiums were valued at nearly $28 billion. Compared to 2013, that dollar volume represents a 9.4 percent gain.

The sales activity reflects the work of more than 22,000 brokers across 21 counties in the member-owned Northwest MLS.

Last year’s completed sales included 66,716 single family homes (about 86 percent of the total) and 10,560 condominiums. The total units and dollar volume are the best since 2007 when members registered 82,197 sales valued at $32.3 billion.

The area-wide median price for last year’s sales of single family homes and condominiums was $285,000, improving on the previous year’s figure of $270,000 (up nearly 5.6 percent). A comparison by county shows median sales prices ranged from $119,900 in Pacific County to $399,750 in King County.

Prices for single family homes (excluding condominiums) rose about 5 percent from 2013, increasing from $281,000 to $295,000. Condo prices jumped 11.4 percent, rising from the 2013 figure of $202,000 to last year’s median selling price of $225,000.

Home buyers who shopped during 2014 often had lots of company – and competition. Brokers notched more than 102,000 pending sales (mutually accepted offers) during 2014, while adding 107,722 new listings to inventory. Brokers said depleted inventory led to bidding wars for homes in the most desirable areas, and led to disappointment for indecisive or unprepared bidders.

During 2014, the average area-wide supply, as measured by months of inventory, fell below 3.5 months. King County had the lowest level, averaging only 1.9 months of supply. Industry insiders tend to use a 4-to-6 month range as an indicator of a balanced market, favoring neither buyers nor sellers.

Further evidence of a housing recovery is reflected in high-end sales. Northwest MLS members reported 2,069 sales of single family homes priced at $1 million or more, up nearly 28 percent from the 2013 total of 1,621 “luxury” sales. Condos priced at $1 million and up accounted for another 152 sales. A total of 878 condos commanded sales prices of $500,000 or more, up 20 percent from the figure for 2013.

The highest-priced single family home that sold during 2014 by a member of Northwest MLS was a property in the Town of Hunts Point that commanded $9.1 million. Topping the chart of high-priced condominiums was one in a downtown Seattle high-rise that sold for $6.1 million.

Among other highlights in its annual compilation of statistics, Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported:

• About 46 percent of last year’s single family home sales had three bedrooms.


• The median price for a 3-bedroom home that sold in 2014 was $262,500, about 5 percent higher than the previous year’s figure of $250,000. A comparison by county shows the median price for this size home ranged from $143,500 in Pacific County to $410,000 in San Juan County.


• More than three-fourths (75.2 percent) of condos that sold had two or fewer bedrooms.


• Of the condo sales, about six of every 10 (61.9 percent) were located in King County, primarily in Seattle or on the Eastside.


• Last year’s sales included 8,177 newly built single family homes that sold for a median price of $374,000, and 607 condos that sold for a median price of $369,950.


• A comparison of median prices of single family homes shows more than half the counties served by Northwest MLS have improved on prices reported for 2005.


• Prices vary widely among school districts. Homes that sold in school districts on Shaw Island and Mercer Island fetched median prices of $1 million or more.

In addition to summarizing sales and listing activity, Northwest MLS also reported enhancements to several services for its growing membership. Among 2014 highlights was the launch of an advanced system for online forms, document storage, electronic signatures and related tools. The MLS also upgraded its keybox program, involving the exchange of more than 90,000 devices.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., expended services to two new counties (Chelan and Douglas) during 2014. With those additions the MLS network now encompasses 23 counties in Washington state.

Western Washington housing market stability continues with modest gains in sales, prices

“Stability” seemed to characterize the direction of Western Washington’s housing market during August, according to new figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Both the volume of sales and prices rose slightly from a year ago, although both indicators slipped somewhat from July. MLS members also reported a modest year-over-year increase in inventory, but the number of new listings added to the selection during August was the smallest since April.

“What we are seeing now with the market is a moderated growth in appreciation, a normalizing of sales volume, and continued health overall,” declared MLS director George Moorhead, the owner and designated broker at Bentley Properties in Bothell. “It is not a call for alarm,” Moorhead emphasized, describing it as “just a balancing and adjusting of a healthy market.”

MLS members reported 9,342 pending sales across the 21 counties served by the Kirkland-based organization. That marks a 3.1 percent gain over the year-ago total of 9,065 mutually accepted offers. Eleven counties reported increases in pending sales during August compared to the same month a year ago.

Commenting on inventory, MLS board member Dick Beeson said the pace of activity in the South Sound has slowed, “and that means buyers have to keep a keen eye out for good bargains in areas they have been scouting.” Beeson, a principal managing broker at RE/MAX Professionals in Tacoma who oversees offices in four counties, said sellers are more in the driver’s seat than they were earlier in the year. “It’s not a mad-rush sellers’ market,” he reported, but added, “buyers are realizing they must act in a timely manner to compete.”

At month-end buyers could choose from 27,060 active listings – about 2.4 percent more than the inventory of a year ago when there were 26,433 properties in the MLS system. The total at the end of August included 10,054 new listings that were added during the month, down slightly from the year-ago figure of 10,172. Last month’s total number of new listings was the smallest total since April.

System-wide, there is just under 3.5 months of supply, but that average varies widely among the counties served by Northwest MLS. King County, with only about two months of supply, has the tightest inventory. Four-to-six months of supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Through eight months, MLS figures show the number of closed sales is outpacing the same period a year ago by a slim margin (115 units). MLS members reported 7,775 closed sales during August, slightly below the year-ago total of 7,841 (down 0.84 percent) and the previous month’s total of 7,878 completed transactions.

Year-over-year prices for single family homes and condominiums that sold last month rose about 1.6 percent compared to a year ago, increasing from $283,000 to $287,500. Despite the system-wide increase, five counties reported declines in median prices for sales that closed in August compared to 12 months ago (Grant, Jefferson, Kitsap, Okanogan, and Pacific). Seven counties had double-digit increases.

In King County, the median selling price was $398,000 for a 1.4 percent gain from the year-ago figure of $392,500. According to MLS statistics, the sales price in August matched the figure for May, but slipped from the figures for June ($410,000) and July ($425,000).

Single family homes (excluding condos) had a median selling price of $299,950 area-wide, up 2 percent from a year ago when it was $294,000.

In King County, the median sales price for single family homes that sold during August was $437,000; a year ago it was $430,000.

“The current trend for strong pending activities and solid closed transaction numbers should keep the confidence level steady,” remarked Darin Stenvers, chairman of the board of directors at Northwest MLS. “Buoyed by low mortgage rates, buyers should remain optimistic about their new home purchases late into 2014,” he added.

Stenvers, the branch manager at John L. Scott in Bellingham, expects the balance of 2014 will remain at a slow and steady pace of appreciation, which should help distressed sellers. “Sellers should reevaluate the market as they may be surprised at the current values,” he suggests.

The recovering market is also boosting activity for home improvement contractors and subcontractors, Stenvers noted. “Sellers are able to afford to improve their homes prior to marketing them, or buyers are undertaking reasonable remodels shortly after closing,” he reported.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 21,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.