Puget Sound home prices, sales continue to climb

Low inventory and plunging mortgage rates
are fueling buyer competition for homes
close to job centers, according to brokers
who commented on the latest market report
from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The volume of closed sales increased more
than 20 percent when compared to May 2011,
topping the 6,000 mark for the first time
since September 2007.

According to the NWMLS, a total of 2,618
King County homes sold in May for a median
price of $324,997 and an average price of
$397,576, up 4.3 percent from the same
period in 2011. In Snohomish County, 1,000
homes sold for a median price of $245,000
($263,403 average price); Pierce County had
865 sales for a $192,000 median ($217,453
average).

The figures for all counties in the MLS
market area show inventory is down sharply
from a year ago (declining almost 28
percent), while pending sales (mutually
accepted offers) rose almost 22 percent.

“The six month trend of low listing
inventory continues to cause strong buyer
competition for homes close to job centers,”
said Joe Spencer, area director for Keller
Williams Northwest Region. He said he does
not expect this trend to change direction
“for quite some time due to what appears to
be long-term economic and demographic
influences.”

Since January, median prices are up 12.8
percent system-wide, with nine counties
reporting gains of 15 percent or higher
(Clallam, Grays Harbor, Island, King,
Kittitas, Kitsap, San Juan, Skagit, and
Snohomish counties). Grays Harbor topped the
list, reporting a 34.8 percent spike in
prices since the first of the year.

The median price on last month’s
completed transactions of single family
homes and condominiums edged up slightly
more than a percentage point compared to a
year ago, rising from $239,999 to $242,500.
For single family homes (excluding condos)
prices area-wide increased 2.34 percent,
while condo prices slipped more than 5
percent.

The NWMLS, based in Kirkland, currently
serves 21 counties in the state.