You can blame the Seattle Seahawks’ Superbowl appearance! Apparently, the fan frenzy of the Seahawks put a damper on listing activity. Whether or not this is the case, the fact is the region has a serious lack of homes for sale compared to the number of buyers out there.
King County sales were off 10.4 % from the same time last year. The sharpest drops occurred in Southeast King County (down more than 23%) and on the Eastside (down more than 16 %).
Statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) show inventory in King County at less than 2.6 months of supply, and Snohomish County with 3.2 months (a balanced market has 4-6 months of inventory).
For single family homes (excluding condos), the median prices in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties shot up more than 11% from a year ago. Homes in King County had a median selling price of $405,400.
With increasing equity, many current homeowners are expected to come into the market starting this spring. “This is the year of the move-up seller,” declared NWMLS director, John Deely. “This is going to be a phenomenal year – not just an average year – a phenomenal year.”
Article adapted from NWMLS.
