Housing Bubble
Puget Sound home sales maintain annual growth in March
April 04, 2003
KIRKLAND, Wash. (April 4, 2003) - Low interest rates and motivated buyers and sellers combined to overcome dismal weather, a sour economy and the start of the war in Iraq to keep Puget Sound home sales percolating during March.
The latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show pending sales (offers made and accepted but not yet closed) jumped 25.3 percent from year-ago volumes. Members reported 8,133 pending sales last month in the 14-county area served by NWMLS, surpassing last year’s total by 1,640 transactions. Thirteen of those counties had double-digit gains from 12 months ago as buyers weathered incessant rain (only seven days during the month with no precipitation) to find their dream home.
Other key indicators of activity - new listings, closed sales and prices - also rose compared to the same month a year ago. New listings increased 8.4 percent, closed sales climbed 8.5 percent and median sales prices are up 5.2 percent from last year’s figures.
MLS members added 11,300 new listings to area-wide inventory during the month for a gain of 8.4 percent from a year ago when they listed 10,421 new offerings. In the four-county Puget Sound region (encompassing King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties), the volume of new listings outgained the previous year’s figure by 6.9 percent.
At month-end, inventory for the 14 county MLS service area stood at 28,856 listings, with single family homes making up 84 percent (24,334) of the selection. Buyers have 3,730 more listings to view compared to a year ago, an increase of 14.8 percent.
Prospective homebuyers will find lots of variation in prices around western Washington. A review of current inventory by price ranges indicates about half the selection (including single family homes and condominiums) outside King County has an asking price of $200,000 or less. Within King County, only about one of every five listings (19.2 percent) is listed for less than $200,000.
At the other end of the price spectrum, shoppers for high-end homes will find the biggest selection in King County. Of 936 properties system-wide priced at $1 million or more, 758 of them (81 percent) are located in King County.
King County experienced the largest year-over-year increase in inventory (up 22 percent). Five counties - Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason and Skagit - have fewer listings than a year ago.
Inventory in Pierce County is comparable to a year ago, with brokers there reporting 4,449 active listings versus a total of 4,433 at this time last year. Despite the similar numbers, NWMLS director Dick Beeson, the managing broker at Windermere Real Estate/Paragon Co. in Tacoma, said “There is a perception of very little inventory for sale” in some areas. � updates (of new listings) have turned into races between agents trying to be the first to show certain homes,” he stated. Such competition is prompting bidding wars on certain well located and well-conditioned homes, according to Beeson. Neither the unemployment figures nor the war seem to be scaring people off, he observed, adding, “Low rates are still the one item of stability that has lifted the market.”
Commenting on interest rates, which fluctuated during the month, MLS director J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, said, “What resulted was an incredibly active month for the real estate market.” In early March, when interest rates dropped to a four-decade low, Scott said a pipeline of buyers flooded the market. “ rates popped up again later in the month, there was another surge of buyers who wanted to take advantage before they rose too high,” Scott noted.
Prices for last month’s completed sales of single family homes and condominiums are up about 5.2 percent from a year ago. The area-wide median price for last month’s closed sales was $211,000, which compares to the year-ago price of $200,644.
For single family homes only (excluding condominiums), the overall median price was $220,000. That’s up $10,000 (about 4.8 percent) from March 2002. Prices in King County topped the list at $284,000, also about 4.8 percent higher than twelve months ago.
Marketing time varied widely around western Washington. MLS figures show the average time on market for last month’s closed sales was 69 days, which was three days longer than sales for the same month a year ago. In both King and Snohomish counties, the average marketing time climbed from 52 days to 63 days, while in Pierce County it remained unchanged at 71 days. Kitsap sales took an average of 74 days, about a week less than a year ago.
Northwest MLS encompasses more than 1,500 real estate brokerages with approximately 16,000 sales associates. Based in Kirkland, NWMLS is owned by its member brokers.
Statistical Summaries follow:
| Mar. 2003 | LISTINGS | PENDING SALES | CLOSED SALES | ||||
| Single Fam. Homes + Condos | New Listings | Total Active | # Pending Sales | # Closings | Avg. Price | Median Price | Avg Days on Market |
| King Co. |
5,187 | 11,755 |
3,465 | 2,741 |
$306,255 | $261,000 |
63 |
| Snohomish |
1,954 | 4,673 |
1,508 | 1,052 |
$231,457 | $210,000 |
63 |
| Pierce |
1,758 | 4,449 |
1,519 | 1,064 |
$189,481 | $173,000 |
71 |
| Kitsap |
544 | 1,565 |
397 | 339 |
$206,679 | $170,000 |
74 |
| Mason |
129 | 537 |
100 | 65 |
$112,364 | $104,500 |
118 |
| Skagit |
231 | 825 |
158 | 139 |
$188,373 | $165,000 |
104 |
| Grays Harbor |
124 | 654 |
114 | 74 |
$86,352 | $75,095 |
122 |
| Lewis |
100 | 443 |
68 | 43 |
$103,529 | $89,000 |
99 |
| Cowlitz |
132 | 578 |
86 | 77 |
$109,295 | $105,000 |
85 |
| Grant |
111 | 419 |
90 | 52 |
$105,691 | $87,000 |
95 |
| Thurston |
485 | 981 |
335 | 253 |
$175,826 | $160,000 |
68 |
| San Juan |
36 | 217 |
21 | 11 |
$257,000 | $209,000 |
174 |
| Island |
222 | 762 |
124 | 118 |
$203,368 | $186,500 |
91 |
| Kittitas |
54 | 241 |
32 | 31 |
$153,446 | $152,250 |
121 |
| Others |
233 | 757 |
116 | 77 |
$175,714 | $167,500 |
67 |
| MLS Total |
11,300 | 28,856 |
8,133 | 6,136 |
$244,858 | $211,000 |
69 |
| 4-County Summary | LISTINGS | PENDING SALES | CLOSED SALES | |||
| Mar 03 New Listings | Mar 02 New Listings | Mar 03 Pending Sales | Mar 02 Pending Sales | Mar 03 Closed Sales | Mar 02 Closed Sales | |
| King Co. | 5,187 | 4,767 | 3,465 | 2,910 | 2,741 | 2,541 |
| Snohomish | 1,954 | 1,850 | 1,508 | 1,137 | 1,052 | 967 |
| Pierce | 1,758 | 1,696 | 1,519 | 1,160 | 1,064 | 989 |
| Kitsap | 544 | 518 | 397 | 335 | 339 | 314 |
| TOTAL | 9,446 | 8,833 | 6,892 | 5,544 | 5,199 | 4,813 |
| % change | 6.9% | 24.3% | 8.0% | |||
|
Price Range |
Mar 03 # units |
Mar 03 % of total |
Mar 02 # units |
Mar 02 % of total |
King Co as of 4/3/03 |
% of KC total |
All areas excl King |
% of areas excl King |
| 0 - 119,999 |
2,970 | 10.29% |
3,186 | 12.53% |
426 | 3.70% |
2,544 | 14.65 |
| 120,000-199,999 |
7,982 | 27.66% |
7,320 | 28.81% |
1,779 | 15.47% |
6,203 | 35.73 |
| 200,000-249,999 |
4,577 | 15.86% |
3,652 | 14.37% |
1,823 | 15.86% |
2,754 | 15.86 |
| 250,000-349,999 |
5,683 | 19.69% |
4,786 | 18.84% |
2,726 | 23.71% |
2,957 | 17.03 |
| 350,000-499,999 |
3,854 | 13.36% |
3,237 | 12.74% |
2,117 | 18.42% |
1,737 | 10.00 |
| 500,000-749,999 |
2,071 | 7.18% |
1,769 | 6.96% |
1,322 | 11.50% |
749 | 4.31 |
| 750,000-999,999 |
783 | 2.71% |
696 | 2.74% |
545 | 4.74% |
238 | 1.37 |
| 1 million & over |
936 | 3.24% |
763 | 3.00% |
758 | 6.59% |
178 | 1.02 |
| TOTAL | 28,856 | 100% | 25,409 | 100% | 11,496 | 100% | 17,360 | 100% |
Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service
