March Statistics Highlights

This winter to spring marketplace and pace have been as frenzied as we've ever had in the Seattle area. I'm still hopeful that May to July will see a steady increase in homes for sale, similar to what we saw the last 2 years and this should help buyers with the frantic and frustrating pace and process of bidding on homes every week with the hope of buying one. That said, if you're a seller, putting your home on the market now, in front of this likely increase, should reward you with better pricing, quicker time on market to sell and a stronger negotiating position through the sale and closing process.

To the numbers:

On the Eastside, for the fist time ever the Median Asking Price for homes for sale is over $1M, at $1,028,986. 
The median price of homes selling is $687,268, up 9% from last year.
Closed sales are up 11% from last year to 1,461 for our first 3 months and available inventory is below 1 month. 
Again, hold on buyers, you will hopefully find relief coming soon and be rewarded for your patience.

Condo closed sales are up 8% from last year and median closed prices are up 6% to $293,792. 
Median asking price is $455,771 up 23% from 2014. This disparity shows some sellers seeking unrealistic pricing still.

In Seattle: Median asking price is up 23% to $692,541 and inventory is down to .6 months of supply. Again a record low.
Sales year to date is almost identical at 1348 vs. 1350 in 2014, surprising with only 519 available homes for sale.
Median closed price is up 10% at $517,362. I don't expect prices to decline with any increase in inventory; only that upward price pressures will moderate in the overall but highly desirable neighborhoods and price ranges will still see rises.

Seattle condos: Median asking price: $485,020; up 30% from last year. Inventory down 24% to 284 choices.
Median closed prices are up 3% to $319,798 with sales up 2% to 476

I've not seen the final figures for Snohomish County for March yet but they've been improving at a higher percentage rate than King County, due to the lower price points they began at. As a for instance, February saw condo prices rise 38% from February of 2014. Much of this gain is distorted as the quantityof foreclosure and short sale condos were dominating the condo sales of the past few years and typically these were lower price range of condos. Still, Snohomich County has been rebounding with the improving economy and more affordable home prices relative to Seattle and the Eastside.