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Buying a Home this Spring? Be Prepared for Bidding Wars
Traditionally, spring is the busiest season for real estate. Buyers come out in force and homeowners list their houses for sale hoping to capitalize on buyer activity. This year will be no different!
Buyers have already been out in force looking for their dream homes and more are on their way, but the challenge is that the inventory of homes for sale has not kept up with demand, which has lead to A LOT of competition for the homes that are available.
A recent Bloomberg article touched on the current market conditions:
“It’s the 2017 U.S. spring home-selling season, and listings are scarcer than they’ve ever been. Bidding wars common in perennially hot markets like the San Francisco Bay area, Denver and Boston are now also prevalent in the once slow-and-steady heartland, sending prices higher and sparking desperation among buyers across the country.”
Sam Khater, Deputy Chief Economist at CoreLogic went on to explain why buyers are flocking to the market in big numbers:
“In today’s market, many buyers think the trough in [interest] rates is over. If you don’t get in now, it’s just going to be worse later. Rates will be higher, prices will be higher, and maybe inventory selection will be lower.”
In some markets, “thirty-five percent of properties are selling within the first week or two of hitting the market.” Homes are selling at a rapid clip in places like:
- Denver, CO
- Seattle, WA
- Oakland, CA
- Grand Rapids, MI
- Boise, ID
- Madison, WI
- Omaha, NE
Source: keepingcurrentmatters.com
King & Snohomish County Market Stats – February 2017
What’s Happening in the Market
Home sales continue to be slightly above last year’s totals in the areas tracked in this report. We are continuing to see double digit price increases spread out from the core of Bellevue and Seattle due to the somewhat exorbitant prices now demanded from the metro area Sellers.
Low Inventory
Inventory hit an all-time low in February which at last count was 3 weeks of inventory if nothing new came on the market. (That’s weeks, not months!) We do expect to see an increase in listings in March and April, but Sellers are still wary of putting their home on the market with nowhere to go. Buyers and Buyers agents are having to be creative with their offers as we are seeing at least 50% of the sales occurring are done in multiple offer situations. We don’t expect this to change anytime soon!
How Much Did Residential Home Prices Rise in 2016?
King County Residential Home Price-Increase in 2016
King County Residential home prices increased an average of 12.7%. Here is the list of median home price-increase in different areas.
| Shoreline/Richmond Beach | $439,725–> $503,393 |
| Lake Forest Park | $432,250–> $505,350 |
| Ballard | $587,000–> $655,000 |
| North Seattle | $575,000–> $679,950 |
| Queen Anne/Magnolia | $780,500–> $882,500 |
| Central Seattle | $689,999–> $774,995 |
| SODO/Beacon Hill | $420,000–> $501,975 |
| West Seattle | $450,000–> $511,500 |
| Southeast Seattle | $441,500–> $500,000 |
| Kirkland/Rosehill | $801,000–> $899,500 |
| Redmond | $650,000–> $709,793 |
| West Bellevue | $1,751,000–> $1,948,000 |
| East Bellevue | $638,950–> $730,000 |
| East Lake Sammamish | $645,000–> $736,001 |
| South Bellevue/Newcastle | $713,000–> $788,888 |
| Mercer Island | $1,195,000–> $1,315,000 |
| Juanita/Woodinville/Bothell/Duvall | $525,000–> $610,000 |
All data compiled from information supplied by Northwest Multiple Listing Association on 1/01/2017 Accuracy of information herein is not guaranteed.
This information was only taken of single-family homes, and does not include condominiums or vacant land.
King & Snohomish County Market Stats – November 2016
What’s Happening In The Market
While we have seen a typical slowdown in transaction side during the holiday’s it is still very active and pricing seems to be holding steady during this last quarter. While the political landscape has caused some uncertainty in many markets around the country it does not appear to have affected ours up to this point. Interest rates having risen ½ point over the past couple weeks have caused some to start thinking about making a move now vs. later. Buyers having lost more than 5% of their buying power due to the rate hike rightfully have concerns about them continuing to rise.
Single Family Homes Market Stats
Condominiums Market Stats
