More Eastside houses were on the market in July, pending and closed sales declined, and price increases moderated somewhat, but it remains a sellers’ market for homes that are appropriately priced, according to data released Thursday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
“We are coming off the fevered pitch of a market that had tremendous velocity over the last few years,” John Deely, executive vice president of Coldwell Bank Bain, said in a news release on July sales throughout NWMLS’s 26-county region. “With listings starting to build again we are seeing a bit of a natural slowdown, yet still very much a sellers’ market.”
King and Snohomish counties each had 1.86 months of housing inventory for single-family homes and condominiums, just below the 2.01 average for all the counties. That was the first time that inventory has exceeded two months since January 2019, when it was 2.3 months, the release said.
Less than four months of inventory is considered a sellers’ market.
In King County, the median sales price of homes and condos combined was $810,000 in July, up 2.7 percent from a year ago. Single-family homes only sold at a median of $890,000, up 2.2 percent. Condos’ median was $490,000, up 6.5 percent.
King County’s total active listings for homes and condos rose 76.1 percent from a year ago, pending sales fell 29.9 percent, and closed sales were down 37.4 percent.
In Snohomish County, the median sales price of homes and condos combined was $737,500 in July, up 9.2 percent from a year ago. Single-family homes only sold at a median of $770,000, up 10 percent. Condos’ median was $500,000, up 5.7 percent.
Snohomish County’s total active listings for homes and condos rose 144.1 percent from a year ago, pending sales fell 23.8 percent, and closed sales were down 31 percent.
“Buyer opportunities have returned to the Puget Sound market, including increased availability and selection of properties, as well as fewer multiple offer/premium pricing situations,” J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, said in the release.
Sellers in half the 26 counties accepted full price or above asking price offers. Based on the sales price to list price ratio, sellers of homes in Thurston County received 103.1 percent of their listing price to top the list. The other 12 counties where homes sold at or above the list price were Chelan, Clark, Cowlitz, Franklin, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom, the release said.
