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Bellevue and Seattle real estate statistics: continually improving home values and sales trends as the first half of the year comes to a close
July 5th, 2011
With half of 2011 now in the books, we are seeing consistently improving home values and sales trends after a rocky start to the year.
Here are a couple highlights for Bellevue real estate…
- The median selling price of single family homes rose for the 5th straight month to $594,695 in June from $468,000 in January
- The amount of single family home sales increased 16.6% from May to June, and the 119 sales was almost identical to June 2010's 120 sales, and that was a month largely fueled by buyers taking advantage of the expiring home buyer tax credits
- Fewer distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) hindered the market for the 5th straight month as well, now comprising only 12.61% of single family home sales compared to 31.15% in January
- The supply (months it would take to sell current inventory at current sales pace) of single family homes fell to only 3.45 months - this is well below the 6 month "normal" supply
The second bullet is extremely positive and shows that real estate is finally behaving much more normally and without the need for government intervention. The third and fourth bullets are the obvious factors as to why the median selling price of homes has climbed. Distressed sales sell at deep discounts, and the fewer there are the less traditional sellers have to compete with their prices. Add competing buyers to the mix thanks to there being fewer homes to choose from, and you have the perfect recipe for climbing prices.
Median Sales Price Single Family in Bellevue | % of Traditional Single Family Home Sales in Bellevue |
* We compile the statistics based on MLS sales data
Here are a few highlights for Seattle real estate…
- The median selling price of single family homes held steady month over month at $380,000
- 573 single family homes sold in June which is the highest volume since the home buyer tax credit fueled sales in May and June of 2010
- Single family homes are selling in an average of 52 days which is also the fastest pace of sales since the tax credit fueled months of 2010
Seattle's real estate recovery is shaping up a little differently than Bellevue, however the same principles are holding true. There have been fewer foreclosure sales plaguing the market and demand has been making a dent in supply. 21.82% of single family home sales in Seattle in June were distressed sales, so the overall numbers are moving a bit more slowly compared to Bellevue. But, on the positive side, this is still below the national average.
It is also important to note that 21.82% isn't indicative of Seattle as a whole as there are some areas faring better than others. As an example, only about 8% of single family homes sales were distressed sales in the area north of 520, east of I5, and up through the Lake City area (U District, Sand Point, Ravenna, Lake City, Laurelhurst, Roosevelt, Wedgwood, etc).
BOTTOM LINE: The continuing trends are becoming a larger and larger sample supporting the growing strength of the real estate recovery...
- Robert E. Wasser - Seattle and Bellevue real estate statistics, market trends, news, and blog
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