With most of the news regarding real estate and the economy sounding slightly upbeat lately we thought we would break down what we are reading about our local economy and, in turn, what we are actually seeing in the real estate market first hand.
Here are some of the positive housing market and local economic headlines from July~
- Washington state wages up 3.6 percent in 2011
- Seattle job addition ninth-best in U.S.
- House prices stay on the rise in King County
- Metro Seattle enjoys strong first quarter
- Seattle leads U.S. in modest upswing in manufacturing
- Seattle tops list of America’s leading high-tech metros
And here is a snapshot of what we are experiencing in NW Seattle in the Ballard, Wallingford, Greenlake area (area 705 which is defined as north of the ship canal, west of I5 & south of 145th)~
- In July, 119 homes sold in area 705 with an average days on market of 29 days, selling for an average of $464,317 for an average of 100.09% of their list price
- Of those, 50 or 42%, sold in under a week
- By Comparison, 3 years ago, in July 2009, 161 homes sold in area 705 with an average days on market of 69 days, selling for an average price of $435,372 for 98.7% of their list price
- Of those, 33 or 20%, sold in under a week
This is not a dramatic turn of events but it certainly is a change to the market in a positive direction. The fact that less homes are selling is due to the fact that inventory is extremely low, which is what is putting pressure on prices and edging them up and creating multiple offer situations that we are seeing regularly now. The positive news that is being reporting does seem to jive with what is really happening out there in real estate.
Wondering if this change in the market means you should buy or sell now? Let us help!