News that hits us where we live.
April 2015 | Forecast is Hot for Spring and Summer Housing Markets
The hot seller's market is in full bloom this spring, and listings are selling as soon as they come on the market for sale.
Multiple offers are becoming commonplace on well-priced new listings as buyers flood into the Greater Seattle area for abundant job opportunities. Low interest rates and skyrocketing rents also attribute to the high demand.
The volume of new listings added during the month of March increased 9.4 percent compared to a year ago, and prices on closed sales of single family homes and condos jumped more than 6.7 percent.
Home prices in King County rose about 8.8 percent from last year, increasing from $378,000 to $411,200. Prices on single family homes (excluding condos) rose about 6.8 percent compared to a year ago. Snohomish County reported the sharpest hike at nearly 8 percent. The median sales price for a home in that county was $340,000 last month; twelve months ago it was $314,975. Buyers can expect to pay about 30 percent more in King County, where a single family home that sold last month fetched a median price of $440,250.
Completed transactions of single family homes and condos during March totaled 6,769 to outgain the same period a year ago by 1,016 transactions for a 17.7 percent increase. Of that total, condos accounted for about 14 percent of the volume. The median price on last month's condo sales was $240,000 - about 9 percent higher than a year ago. In King County, the median sales price was $269,600.
Escalating prices may ease later in the year, when interest rates edge up as the Fed stops buying mortgage-backed securities. With near full employment levels and still historic low interest rates, it looks like spring and summer housing markets will be hot. Buckle your seatbelts.
by Charles Burnett | Sound Realty Group