September housing statistics around Washington indicate recovery is continuing, strengthening sellers’ positions KIRKLAND, Wash. (Sept. 5, 2012) – Pending sales, closed sales and prices all increased in August compared to a year ago, according to the latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Those key indicators, coupled with the persistent shortage of inventory, prompted one industry leader to declare the market has flipped. Brokers reported 8,338 pending sales of single family homes and condominiums last month for a yearover-year increase of 9.3 percent. Fourteen of the 21 counties in the Northwest MLS service area reported double-digit gains in the number of mutually accepted offers. Last month’s pending transactions nearly equaled the July total of 8,416 sales and marked the fifth consecutive month of at least 8,000 pending sales. Closed sales, reflecting several months of strong pending sales, reached the highest volume so far in 2012. Brokers tallied 6,612 closings last month, continuing a streak of four months of 6,000-plus completed transactions. “In housing markets, slow and steady recoveries are good,” said MLS director Frank Wilson, the branch managing broker at John L. Scott’s Poulsbo office. “A market that runs too high or too fast leads to a quick decline in short order,” he commented, adding he expects good momentum to continue into the fall. The median price on last month’s closed sales rose more than 5.9 percent, to an area-wide figure of $250,000. That’s up from the year-ago median sales price of $236,000 for single family homes and condos combined, but tapered off from the July figure of $254,900. Clark County claimed the largest year-over-year gain at 18.3 percent, followed by Cowlitz (18 percent), Mason (nearly 16 percent), and Kittitas (13.7 percent) counties. For single family homes only (excluding condos), prices jumped nearly 6.7 percent, from $247,000 to $263,500. Buyers of single family homes in King County paid $378,000 for last month’s sales, an increase of 8 percent from the year-ago median selling price of $350,000. “The biggest story this year is that the market has flipped,” proclaimed J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. He attributes the shift to a seller’s market in most areas and prices to a combination of factors, including historically low interest rates, lower adjusted prices, the shortage of inventory, an elevated number of investors, and the return of local home buyers. Northwest MLS directors OB Jacobi and Joe Spencer are similarly encouraged by the latest numbers, mentioning steady momentum, rising consumer confidence, low inventory, a pickup of activity in new construction, and improving prospects for homeowners who are underwater. -more-
page two (NWMLS news release: August activity)
Sept. 5, 2012
Northwest MLS members were hard-pressed to replenish inventory last month. They added 8,379 new listings to inventory -- 749 fewer new listings than a year ago, and about the same as the number of pending sales (8,338). Last month’s additions brought the month-end total to 25,506 listings, down more than 28 percent from the year-ago inventory of 36,907 homes and condos. “Inventory levels are incredibly low, but our hope is that many homeowners who were underwater can now afford to sell because of the continued appreciation of home prices,” remarked OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate Company. He also noted a pick-up of activity in the new construction housing market, which he expects will add much needed inventory throughout Puget Sound. Wilson said he expects activity in Kitsap to pick up there once school resumes and after a typical “pause” around Labor Day. Noting increases in pending sales, closed sales and prices, he said “the only number that is down is the steady decrease in inventory. Lower inventory combined with low interest rates are what is going to carry this momentum forward into the fall,” he remarked. Another MLS director, Joe Spencer, said the low inventory and heightened buyer activity are resulting in an imbalance of supply and demand, but he believes that “bodes well as we move into the fall season, which typically ushers in an increase in buyer activity.” Buyers and sellers are “clearly more confident,” reported Spencer, the area director for Keller Williams. These consumers “are looking to take advantage of the market rebound in what appears to be a continued slow and sustainable recovery.” The condo market showed mixed results. Both pending and closed sales increased, but inventory is at about half the levels of a year ago, and prices are essentially flat. Brokers reported 1,130 pending sales of condos for a 7.5 percent gain from a year ago and a slight uptick from the total for July (1,188). MLS members reported 889 closed sales of condominiums area-wide for a 16.1 percent year-over-year gain. The median sales price on those sales was $174,000, which is $1,000 less than a year ago (down 0.57 percent). Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 21,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state. ### Statistical summaries follow
page three (NWMLS news release: August activity)
Sept. 5, 2012
Statistical Summary by Counties: Market Activity Summary – August 2012 Single Fam. PENDING LISTINGS CLOSED SALES Homes + SALES Condos New Total # Pending # Closings Avg. Price Listings Active Sales King 3,195 6,432 3,298 2,730 $414,308 Snohomish 1,185 2,322 1,324 1,057 $274,460 Pierce 1,225 3,792 1,334 983 $223,534 Kitsap 416 1,573 385 304 4295,875 Mason 142 843 96 58 $189,262 Skagit 177 946 204 127 $243,742 Grays Harbor 144 912 101 53 $130,698 Lewis 105 732 86 55 $136,574 Cowlitz 114 540 124 90 $167,828 Grant 114 605 76 76 $161,488 Thurston 399 1,314 391 306 $225,338 San Juan 41 453 43 26 $385,029 Island 169 942 143 125 $322,621 Kittitas 93 527 72 74 $280,027 Jefferson 77 565 63 39 $290,381 Okanogan 63 458 32 36 $223,484 Whatcom 414 1,643 326 262 $270,179 Clark 50 225 50 57 $265,341 Pacific 41 443 35 35 $109,531 Ferry 8 78 5 1 $199,500 Clallam 77 471 52 43 $183,332 Others 130 690 98 75 $204,201 MLS TOTAL 8,379 26,506 8,338 6,612 $315,656
Median Price $340,000 $246,000 $199,950 $246,250 $163,500 $210,000 $123,500 $137,500 $159,950 $155,500 $218,000 $325,000 $250,000 $195,500 $242,000 $155,750 $237,250 $210,000 $95,000 $199,500 $163,000 $190,000 $250,000
4-county Puget Sound Region Pending Sales (SFH + Condo combined) (totals include King, Snohomish, Pierce & Kitsap counties) 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Jan 3706 4334 4293 4746 4521 5426 5275 4869 3291 3250 4381 4272 4921
Feb 4778 5056 4735 5290 6284 6833 6032 6239 4167 3407 5211 4767 6069
Mar 5903 5722 5569 6889 8073 8801 8174 7192 4520 4262 6821 6049 7386
Apr 5116 5399 5436 6837 7910 8420 7651 6974 4624 5372 7368 5732 7015
May 5490 5631 6131 7148 7888 8610 8411 7311 4526 5498 4058 5963 7295
Jun 5079 5568 5212 7202 8186 8896 8094 6876 4765 5963 4239 5868 6733
Jul 4928 5434 5525 7673 7583 8207 7121 6371 4580 5551 4306 5657 6489
Aug 5432 5544 6215 7135 7464 8784 7692 5580 4584 5764 4520 5944 6341
Sep 4569 4040 5394 6698 6984 7561 6216 4153 4445 5825 4350 5299
Oct 4675 4387 5777 6552 6761 7157 6403 4447 3346 5702 4376 5384
Nov 4126 4155 4966 4904 6228 6188 5292 3896 2841 3829 3938 4814
Dec 3166 3430 4153 4454 5195 4837 4346 2975 2432 3440 3474 4197