The Multiple Listing Service has just released its monthly statistics and news release for the month of March. We have extracted and highlighted a couple of points for you to soak in:
- Northwest MLS figures show year-over-year prices jumped 14.9 percent for the 21 counties in its
service area - Prices for single family homes increased 14.3 percent
- Median sales price for condos, which accounted for about 12 percent of sales, surged 19.6 percent
- Two-thirds of last month’s condo sales were in King County; prices there leaped 28.6 percent, increasing from $175,000 to $225,000
- The price of a single family home that sold in King County jumped from $330,000 to $392,000 (up 18.8 percent)
- Brokers reported 5,745 closed sales last month for a 13.9 percent increase from the previous year when they tallied 5,044 completed transactions
- System-wide, there is less than a two-month supply of homes
And beyond the numbers are the observations of the Brokers out in the community and why they feel the numbers look like they do. Here are a couple highlights of t
hose observations:
- The upward spike in prices is largely the result of limited supply
- Whenever we get down to a severe shortage of homes for sale, we get double-digit home price appreciation
- The vast majority of home sales right now have multiple offers and it’s no longer restricted to the urban markets — the outlying areas are now experiencing the same thing
- Demand continues to outpace supply, creating high absorption rates
- Open houses are drawing large crowds
What does it all mean? Well, the long and short is, we have limited supply and pent up demand for that limited supply of listings due to affordable prices and low interest rates. This is creating both a good time to sell and buy. Though we are in a seller’s market (with less than 3 months supply of inventory), with the interest rates still low and home prices still affordable (not at 2007 price values) it is ideal for buyers to get into the market now before interest rates and prices go up. On the flip side, for sellers, there is little competition when you put your house or condo on the market so you will likely have multiple buyers bidding the price up for your home and waiving their contingencies so it can be a fabulous time to sell. It is particularly advantageous for those sellers that want to move up as you will benefit from both the frenzied buyers for your home sale and the low interest rates and prices when you buy,