What to Believe?

It seems like every other day we read in the national and local media that the real estate market is stagnant. Then we hear that things are picking up and the values are going up in some cities. Then we hear that housing starts are down. Next the increase in sales volume month over month is increasing.

My head is spinning is yours too?

I can’t tell you what the market is like in Tennessee, Vermont, Idaho, Nevada or even in Olympia because it is not in my market place. What I can show you are the current stats that have just come out today for Seattle, the market that I know well. Check out the two charts below.

Here is a portion of the article from the Seattle PI on Tuesday, June 05, 2012:

“Rising sales and low inventory helped push Seattle house prices up by 10.5 percent in May from a year earlier, according to a new report. The median price of a house in the city was $425,500 in May, up from $385,000 a year ago, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported. The median price was just $500 lower this April. The King County median house price was $362,000, up 4.9 percent from May 2011 and 0.6 percent from April 2012.

Sales of houses and condos rose by more than 24 percent from last year in the city and county. Pending sales, which don't all close but can be the best indicator of recent activity, were up by 16.2 percent in Seattle and 22.5 percent countywide. Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market dropped by more than 40 percent in the city and county. That amounts to 2.1 months worth of inventory at the current sales pace in Seattle and 2.5 months worth countywide, down from 4.3 and 5.2 months of inventory a year ago.

Things that are in good condition are selling, they're selling quickly, and they're selling at good prices, from the seller's point of view," said Glenn Crellin, associate director of the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington.

So the bottom is clearly past, right?"

Click on the “Local RE Stats” tab on this site to see the most current actual statistics for King County, the City of Seattle, West Seattle, Burien/Normandy Park, Downtown/Belltown, Queen Anne/Magnolia, Ballard/Greenlake, U-District/North Seattle, CD/Capitol Hill, Beacon/SODO, and SE Seattle/Seward Park. How is your neighborhood doing?  What are your thoughts and predictions?