Northwest MLS brokers report brisk activity,
multiple offers, "irrational delays" by lenders
KIRKLAND,
WA, September 4, 2009 –Pending sales around
Western Washington during August jumped nearly
21 percent from a year ago and inventory dropped
more than 18 percent, according to new figures
from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. MLS
member-brokers say those indicators, along with
signs of stabilizing prices, set the stage for
brisk activity in the next few months as first-time
buyers try to take advantage of the Nov. 30
deadline for tax credits.
"The
typical August cool down in the market did not
happen this year," observed NWMLS director Kathy
Estey, managing broker at John L. Scott's office
in downtown Bellevue. She said agents are busy
with both first-time and move-up buyers and
they're reporting multiple offers on homes priced
up to $700,000.
Brokers
reported 7,539 pending sales (offers made and
accepted but not yet closed) for August, up
20.7 percent from a year ago. That volume outgained
July's total by 260 transactions.
In the four-county Puget Sound region, pending
sales of single family homes and condominiums
(combined) surged 25.7 percent from a year ago.
Within
King County, pending sales activity improved
25.1 percent from a year ago, and was especially
robust in the North King County area (up 38.7
percent) and on the Eastside (up nearly 36 percent).
Excluding condos, two sub-areas of King County
notched gains of more than 40 percent for pending
sales of single family homes – Southeast King
County (up 40.4 percent) and the Eastside (up
42.5 percent).
On
the downside, Estey said many transactions are
missing their closing date "for seemingly irrational
reasons." Last minute demands from lenders are
common and final underwriting reviews are causing
delays, she noted, adding, "Inexperienced appraisers
are gumming up the works as well." She urges
first-time buyers who want to capture the $8,000
tax credit to plan ahead and allow for delays.
Another
MLS director, Dick Beeson, the broker/owner
of Windermere Commencement Associates in Tacoma,
said stabilizing prices "bode well for the near
term."
For
the 19 counties in the Northwest MLS service
area, the median price for single family homes
and condominiums that sold and closed last month
was $$275,945, down about 8.8 percent from the
year ago sales price of $302,500. Since January,
however, prices area-wide have edged up about
1.1 percent, with seven of the 19 counties notching
increases.
Prices
for single family homes (excluding condos) that
sold throughout the NWMLS area are up about
3.3 percent since January, although down about
9.2 percent from twelve months ago. In the four-county
Puget Sound region, the median sales price for
single family homes that closed last month was
$310,000, down about 11.4 percent from twelve
months ago, but back up to match January's figure
of $310,000.
Condo
prices remain depressed. For last month's completed
transactions, the median sales price was $235,000,
off 5 percent from the year ago figure of $247,500.
Compared to January's sales, condo prices have
dropped about 6 percent
J.
Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott
Real Estate, expects strong activity in the
coming months. "It's exciting to see that home
sales continue to be brisk in the more affordable
and mid price ranges," he remarked. "I anticipate
that September will see a surge of sales activity
because of the tax credit's impending deadline
which, when combined with historically low interest
rates and increased affordability, provides
a rare opportunity for first time homebuyers,"
Scott stated.
Current
house-hunters have fewer listings to consider
than a year ago: 41,528 active listings at the
end of August compared to 50,772 for same month
a year ago, a decline of 18.2 percent. Prices
on current offerings, which include single family
homes and condominiums, range from $13,000 to
$32 million.
Northwest MLS members added 10,132 new listings
to inventory during August, nearly 1,300 fewer
than twelve months ago. Inventory shrunk in
16 of the 19 NWMLS counties, with twelve counties
reporting double-digit drops.
Lower
listing inventory is one of the building blocks
of a housing recovery, according to Ron Sparks,
managing vice president of Coldwell Banker Bain.
"With fewer homes for sale, better affordability
and buyer incentives like the $8,000 first-time
buyer tax credit, we are seeing supply and demand
become much more balanced in many areas, and
this will help support more stable prices,"
he explained.
Sparks
also commented on the momentum reflected in
last month's activity. "It's very good to see
that the number of pending sales is still rising
in most areas, especially when we might typically
expect a seasonal slowdown in demand." He called
the nearly 21 percent overall improvement in
last month's pending sales "particularly impressive."
Open
house traffic has been steady with high interest
among first-time buyers being the driver, reports
NWMLS director Beeson. Despite high interest,
he said many potential buyers are still confused
about how the tax credit program works.
On
a cautionary note, Beeson expects a new round
of bank owned properties to come on the market
later this year and into next year. "This inventory
will have to be absorbed over time and no one
knows for sure just how this will influence
prices," he acknowledged, adding, "The best
guess is it will be negative, although we have
experienced many foreclosures already on the
market. . .with no appreciable drop in prices
since the beginning of the year."
Summing
up last month's activity, Sparks of CBB, said,
"A healthy, balanced market is in everyone's
best interest, and the August report tells us
we're definitely getting closer."”
Northwest
Multiple Listing Service is the largest full-service
MLS in the Northwest. Based in Kirkland and
owned by its member brokers, it currently encompasses
nearly 2,100 companies with more than 26,000
sales associates. Together, they serve 19 counties,
mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas
and Okanogan counties in the central part of
the state.
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