Seattle Real Estate Market Update – November 2014

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

The holidays are upon us and with the wintery weather we saw last month, it looks like several areas are seeing a temporary cooling off while people are focused on their holiday activities. This can spell a great opportunity for both buyers and sellers because the most serious of these are still in the market!

Buyers, if you have been waiting, trying to avoid competing, now might be your moment. Sellers, there ARE serious buyers out there which could spell opportunity. What should you keep your eyes open for this holiday season?

Inventory of Listings

Although the number of listings and the number of pendings has declined moving from October into November (which is normal for this time of year), it is interesting to note that the number of homes on the market has decreased looking at year over year number of listings. Comparing November 2014 and November 2013, the number of available listings has deceased in all five of the neighborhoods I track:

Central Seattle -22.9%
Queen Anne -8.8%
Belltown -8.3%
Ballard -6.5%
North Seattle -8.5%

Below is a table comparing the number of active listings (supply) and pendings (demand) for several of our Seattle neighborhoods (these numbers include single family residences as well as condos):

seattle-market-update-2014-nov-01

Median Sales Prices

Median sales prices have taken a slight step back in Central Seattle, Queen Anne/Magnolia, and Belltown looking at the year over year comparison between November of 2014 and 2013. If you look at the table above, specifically the ratio of active listings to pending listings, note that in the areas where the number of pendings is close to the number of active listings (such as North Seattle where the number of active listings is 118 whereas the number of pendings is 117) we aren’t seeing the price declines that some of the other areas see.

seattle-market-update-2014-nov-02

Please take time during this month to contact me at sold@windermere.com or give me a call: (206) 226-5300 to learn more and to receive my 2015 predictions for the real estate market!

Seattle Real Estate Market Update October 2014

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

Autumn is usually a time when we see the real estate market slow down a bit. However, that has not been the case so far in many of Seattle’s neighborhoods this fall. How is your area shaping up?

Inventory of Listings

The shift in inventory as we head further into fall is very interesting! A decrease in inventory is expected as our spring and summer are our busy real estate season. However, the number of homes under contract has increased significantly in Central Seattle and Queen Anne/Magnolia along with the decrease in inventory, spelling an uptick in demand in these areas.

Demand, as measured by homes under contract, has decreased in Belltown/Downtown. Ballard/Greenlake and North Seattle are about even.

Below is a table comparing the number of active listings (supply) and pendings (demand) for several of our Seattle neighborhoods:

marketupdate-2014oct-01

Median Sales Prices

Year over year median home prices have increased in most areas except Belltown/Downtown. In Queen Anne/Magnolia and North Seattle, prices have continued to increase significantly over last year. Since demand for homes in these areas have continued to be high, the prices have continued to increase.

marketupdate-2014oct-02

This has been an intense year for Seattle real estate and the market continues to be brisk despite heading into our “quieter” time. I encourage you to contact me at sold@windermere.com or give me a call: (206) 226-5300 to learn more about what this market means for your real estate investment. Knowledge is power!

Seattle Real Estate Market Update September 2014

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

Listing Inventory

Below is a table comparing the number of active listings (supply) and pendings (demand) for several of the Seattle neighborhoods I specialize in: Central Seattle, Queen Anne / Magnolia, Belltown / Downtown, Ballard / Greenlake, and North Seattle.

SeattleMarketUpdateSept2014-01

The above includes residential and condos.

Our fall market is starting off in an interesting fashion where inventory is shifting throughout the city. As you can see in the above table, inventory as increased or decreased slightly in most areas, but Queen Anne/Magnolia’s shift is most dramatic with an increase in active listings and a decrease in pendings. Since this is an area of the city that has seen some of the greatest demand in recent months, this could provide a little breathing room for buyers wanting to buy in that area. When the MLS measures the market, they also look at “months of inventory” which indicates that at the current demand, if no additional homes went on the market, the inventory would be purchased within “x” months. For Queen Anne/Magnolia, we are looking at two months of inventory for September. It has fluctuated between 1-3 months since March of 2012.

In Belltown, inventory decreased slightly but the pending numbers are up 30% over August and 81.4% over last year. Belltown’s Months of Inventory have fluctuated between 2-4 months since March of 2012 and is currently listed at 3 months.

Central Seattle is currently at two months of inventory (it has fluctuated between 1 and 3 since March, 2012), Ballard/Greenlake is currently at 1 month of inventory (where it has solidly been since February of this year), and North Seattle is also at one month of inventory which is where it has been since January of 2013.

SeattleMarketUpdateSept2014-02

Median Sales Prices

Median Sales Prices are on the rise across the city, comparing September of 2013 to September of 2014. These are modest price increases that can spell great news for homeowners with increased equity.

SeattleMarketUpdateSept2014-03

Want to know how the fall is shaping up in your neighborhood? Please give me a call or send me an email: (206) 226-5300 or sold@windermere.com.

Seattle Real Estate Market Update August 2014

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

Inventory of Listings

market-update-aug-2014-01

The above includes residential and condos.

As you can see, inventory dropped dramatically in all the tracked neighborhoods. It is normal for a surge of properties to come on the market at the beginning of the summer with a good percentage pending by the end (indicative of the increase in pendings) which is one reason the inventory has decreased. However, the number of available listings in August this year versus last indicates that inventory is still below where it needs to be to keep up with demand as we head into fall. Please see the below table for the inventory comparison between this last August and 2013.

market-update-aug-2014-02

Median Sales Prices

Median Sales Price changes have continued their year-over-year increase in Central Seattle, Queen Anne/Magnolia, Ballard/Greenlake, and North Seattle year over year comparing August 2014 with August 2013. Belltown/Downtown did see a decrease. These prices are only looking at residential sales with the exception of Belltown which includes both residential and condos (since condos make up the bulk of the sales).

market-update-aug-2014-03

What does this fall look like for your property needs? Start planning now by giving me a call or sending an email: (206) 226-5300 or sold@windermere.com.

Seattle Real Estate Market Update July 2014

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

Inventory of Listings

Below is a table comparing the number of active listings (supply) and pendings (demand) for several of the Seattle neighborhoods I specialize in:

2014-jul-seattle-market-update01

If you are a seller or a buyer looking at the market, it is important to keep your eye on changes in inventory. I not only watch the market as a whole, but at individual home styles and price points also to keep on top of what is selling and how quickly so I can strategize with my clients.

Median Sales Prices

Median Sales Price changes have increased in Central Seattle, Queen Anne/Magnolia, Belltown/Downtown, Ballard/Greenlake, and North Seattle year over year comparing July 2014 with July 2013:

2014-jul-seattle-market-update02

We added a few more listings to our inventory in July which should cause the price appreciation speed to get back to the single digits. However, demand is still high. In fact, I currently have eleven listings and all of them are under contract but two.

In case you missed it, Seattle hit a milestone in July when we achieved a median sales price of $525,000 for residential sales. That surpassed the previous all-time high median sales price of $498,000 set in July of 2007.

You need an expert to keep up with the constant changes in this market. If you need information on your real estate investment, please contact me at sold@windermere.com or give me a call: (206) 226-5300.

Seattle Real Estate Market Update – Year to Date

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

I know I have been saying this now for a number of months, but the Seattle market has been off the charts! Instead of doing a month over month review, I wanted to take a look at the overall trends and compare how the real estate market is doing at the 2014 halfway point, comparing year-to-date residential and condominium data for 2011-2014. What I found is several areas are feeling the inventory pinch in a big way. Take a look at the summaries for the five areas I track below:

Central Seattle (Area 305)

Central Seattle is feeling the inventory pinch, though not as bad as other areas. You can see our surplus of inventory in 2011 and how much it declined over 2012 and 2013. We have not seen much change between 2013 and 2014, other than the average inventory has declined by an average of about 12.5%.

2014-july-central-seattle-active-pending

The number of solds increased dramatically in 2013 (+32.8%), but inventory challenges have caused 2014 to get off on a slower start.

2014-july-central-seattle-property-sold

Queen Anne/Magnolia (Area 700)

Demand for homes is strong in these areas. Again, average inventory declined between 2011 and 2012 and has stayed about the same over 2013 and 2014. Average pendings are about the same as well, but you can see how close the pendings are to the inventory which indicates that demand is high.

2014-july-queen-anne-active-pending

The number of solds over 2013 and 2014 have also been stable. These would likely be higher if more inventory was available.

2014-july-queen-anne-property-sold

Belltown/Downtown (Area 701)

In 2011, housing demand in this area was the lowest among the five areas I evaluated, though not significantly so. This improved dramatically in 2012 but even more so in 2013 and 2014. Average inventory has improved in 2014, but only slightly. However, the average number of homes under contract have increased even more than the inventory has improved.

2014-july-belltown-active-pending

Accordingly, the number of sold properties has increased in 2014. However, we are not seeing a large increase in solds between 2011 through 2014 as we have in other areas.

2014-july-belltown-property-sold

Ballard/Greenlake (Area 705)

Wow! Inventory decreased dramatically between 2011 and 2012. 2013 and 2014 are about the same in terms of average active listings and pendings. What is interesting is the number of average pendings is higher in both years than the number of available listings. This is indicative of very high demand.

2014-july-ballard-active-pending

Solds are up slightly and would be even higher were there more inventory to purchase:

2014-july-ballard-property-sold

North Seattle (Area 710)

This is the most in-demand area at the moment with the average number of pendings the same as last year, but the average inventory has dropped 11.38% over last year. Again, we see a dramatic change between 2011 and 2012, but 2013 and 2014 have the highest demand.

2014-july-north-seattle-active-pending

The number of solds has also increased, although this would be higher if more inventory was available.

2014-july-north-seattle-sold-property

Of the 12 listings I have at the moment, 8 of them are pending after being on the market an average of 11.88 days. What does this market mean for your real estate investment? Please give me a call at sold@windermere.com or give me a call: (206) 226-5300.

Seattle Real Estate Market Update May 2014

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

Throughout the city, the number of active listings are on the rise, but so are the homes under contract!
Below are some examples of properties that have closed in the last two weeks and and the list to sales price ratio indicates they may have sold for multiple offers:

may2014mu01

However, note that not all homes are selling for list price and for multiple offers! In fact, there are many homes in the MLS that have sold in the last 14 days that sold for 100% of list price or less. In the last two weeks, there have been 308 homes sold in Seattle and 103 condos. For the residences, 3 bedroom homes have commanded the highest list to sales price ratio of 103.66% while 5+ bedrooms are at an average of 99%.

Looking at condos, 4 bedroom condos were most in demand commanding an average list to sales price ratio of 100% (although there was technically only one sold).

Overall, the average list to sales price ratio for stand-alone residences is 102.45% while it is 99.73% for condos.
Therefore, if you are thinking of buying or selling, know that it is a competitive market and yes, some areas and price ranges are much more competitive than others. However, an agent who studies the market like I do will be able to provide you the information you need in order to make a great buying or selling decision.

Inventory of Listings

Below is a table comparing the number of active listings (supply) and pendings (demand) for several of our Seattle neighborhoods:

may2014mu02

Median Sales Prices

Median Sales Price changes have increased in all the below areas year over year comparing May 2014 with May 2013:

may2014mu03

Seattle Real Estate Market Update, April 2014

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

This spring market is very busy! As the spring goes on, there are more buyers in the market and we are starting to see “for sale” signs popping up on lawns throughout the city, closely followed by “sale pending” signs. How has the market changed since last month?

Inventory of Listings

The number of listings have increased in each of the Seattle areas since last month which is typical for a spring market. This increase has provided some relief for the strong demand, but pendings have also increased which shows that the demand is still very high. It is only when we see a trend of the number of active listings increasing without a corresponding pending increase that we will know that demand is waning.

Below is a table comparing the number of active listings (supply) and pendings (demand) for several of our Seattle neighborhoods:

inventory-april2014

You may note in the above that Central Seattle’s inventory grew the most and didn’t see a matching growth in pendings as of the end of April. It is apparent that sellers recognize the opportunity that exists in the market right now and have decided to take advantage of that. With the increased number of buyers in the market, I expect to see the number of pendings to increase in Central Seattle next month.

Furthermore, take a look at Queen Anne / Magnolia where the inventory has increased by 7.91% but pendings have increased by 12.62%. This shows us that demand in this area is particularly high.

Median Sales Prices

Median Sales Price changes have increased in all the below areas year over year comparing April 2014 with April 2013 as well.

median-sales-april2014

Seattle Real Estate Market Update March 2014

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Steve Laevastu

In the month of March there were 797 ACTIVE listings in Seattle. In the month of March 736 homes went PENDING. This means that 1 out of every 1.1 homes on the market went SOLD PENDING.
This implies a 1.1 month supply of inventory.

Any ratio under 3.0 is considered a “seller’s market indicator”
Any ratio between 3.1 to 6.0 is considered a “neutral market indicator”
Any ratio over 6.1 is considered a “buyer’s market indicator”

The Seattle inventory ratios for the last twelve months are as follows:

march2014seattle-market-numbers

In fact, the last 26 months (February 2012 through March 2014) have all had seller’s market indicators!
Another way to look at inventory is the number of homes available for sale. In March 2014, there were 797 active listings available for sale. The 10 year moving average for the number of active listings available in March is 1,704. Therefore we are 53% below our 10 year moving average for Seattle housing inventory.
Inventory continues to be a challenge in the Seattle area. As you can see in the graphs below, in most areas, supply cannot keep up with demand. I expect these conditions will continue until we have enough homes available for the number of buyers who are in the market.

mar2014-seattle-north

mar2014-seattle-ballard

belltown ballard

mar2014-central-seattle

Median Sales Prices
The Seattle housing market peaked in July of 2007 with a median sales price of $496,000. The median home price of a Seattle home in March 2014 is $441,000. Therefore the average price of a Seattle home has come down 11% since we peaked in July of 2007.

Median Sales Prices in most areas have risen along with the high demand. However, due to lack of inventory in certain price points, median sales prices in some areas have seen a decline because there are simply not enough homes available at higher price points.

2014-2013-march-comparison

If you have been wondering how your home fits in the market or would like additional data or information, please contact me. I would be happy to look at the numbers for your neighborhood and let you know where you stand with your real estate investment. Please contact me at sold@windermere.com or give me a call: (206) 226-5300.