Puget Sound home sales brisk, prices still lag

Home sales in the Puget Sound region continue to trend upward but prices lag behind, dragged down by the number of distressed properties clearing the market, the latest study from Northwest Multiple Listing Service revealed.

Brokers reported 5,044 closed sales last month, improving on the 2011 total by nearly 10 percent. The overall median price on last month’s completed transactions was $225,000, which reflects a decrease of 7.4 percent from the year-ago median sales price of $242,925.

Brokers added 8,170 new listings last month — nearly 1,000 fewer than the number of pending sales, and about 1,100 fewer new listings than the same month a year ago. Coupled with shrinking inventory, attractive financing, and rising consumer confidence, the market is becoming more balanced, brokers say.

“Because of the shortage of homes for sale, combined with the sales surge being driven by job growth and historically low interest rates, if you are not ‘buyer ready’ you may not get a house in today’s market,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.

Multiple offers were reported on homes in many popular neighborhoods.

The median price a King County home sold in March was $330,000, up 7 percent from February. In Snohomish County, the median price was $245,000.