SEATTLE HOUSING MARKET UPDATE
May 2016 was another RECORD breaking month for Seattle real estate
The median price of a Seattle home is now $625,000.
The median price of a Seattle home is up 14% vs May 2015.
The $625,000 median price ties the all time record high.
There were 992 pending sales in May, which is up 11% from twelve months ago when 889 pending sales were reported.
The 992 units is a new record for pending sales in a month. The previous record was 984 units which happened in March 2005.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO SEATTLE REAL ESTATE IN MAY?
In May there were 589 ACTIVE listings in the Seattle real estate market.
In May 992 homes went PENDING.
Which means that 1 out of every 0.6 homes on the market went pending in May.
This 0.6 ratio implies a 0.6 month supply of inventory.
The 0.6 ratio is a strong SELLER’S MARKET INDICATOR.
THE PAST 17 MONTHS HAVE SEEN THE BEST SELLER RATIOS EVER FOR SEATTLE ABSORPTON RATE.
Any ratio under 3.0 is a seller’s market indicator.
Any ratio between 3.0 and 6.0 is a neutral market indicator.
Any ratio over 6.0 is a buyer’s market indicator.
The story remains LACK OF INVENTORY.
EPIC RECORD SETTING LOW INVENTORY!!!
In May there were 589 ACTIVE listings in Seattle.
The record low was set 5 months ago (December 2015) with 361 ACTIVE listings.
The 589 ACTIVE listings is 66% under our 10 year average for May inventory.
Another way of looking at it is that we are only at 34% of our average inventory for this time of year.
Is inventory starting to pick up? The answer is there are signs that say YES and there are signs that say NO. HOWEVER, AT SOME POINT IT WILL. WE ARE IN A MARKET ECONOMY. AND MARKETS ALWAYS DO CHANGE AT SOME POINT.
In March 2016 inventory levels were at 32% of the running 10 year average for Seattle.
In April 2016 inventory levels were at 37% vs the running 10 year average for Seattle.
In May we are at 34% of our 10 year moving average.
The May ten year moving average for inventory is 1,734 ACTIVE listings.
Also if we compare May 2016 to May 2015 we will note that even though inventory was low in May 2015 (661) it was even lower in May 2016 (589). Inventory is down 11% vs 2015.
In the month of May the AVERAGE list price vs sales price for Seattle was 104%.
The 104% list price vs sales price average is the second highest ever recorded.
The record was set in March 2016 with 105%.
So the average home sold for 4% over the asking price in May!!!
This is the 16th month in a row that the AVERAGE list price vs AVERAGE sales price has been over 100%
The AVERAGE days on market for a Seattle home in the month of May was 14 days before they accepted an offer. The 14 days sets a record for the lowest number ever recorded in Seattle.
And real estate is always LOCALIZED. What I mean is that CERTAIN areas are moving better than other areas. Let’s take a look at list price vs sales prices for some different neighborhoods in Seattle for the month of May.
- Green Lake 112%
- Bryant 110%
- Madrona 110%
- Maple Leaf 109%
- Ravenna 108%
- Wedgwood 106%
- Capitol Hill 106%
- Magnolia 105%
- West Seattle, 105%
- Ballard 105%
- Wallingford 104%
- View Ridge & Hawthorne Hills 103%
- Seward Park 102%
- Queen Anne 102%
- Lake City 99%
- Laurelhurst 99%
THE CHART AND GRAPH BELOW ARE REAL ESTATE STATISTICS FOR THE CITY OF SEATTLE.
If you have any questions or if I can be of any assistance please contact me.
Thank you,
Steve Laevastu
cell 206-226-5300