Recent Home Sales in Seattle 98122

There have been 113 sales of single family houses(including 19 townhomes) in the 98122 zip code of Seattle in the past six months. This includes the communities of Capitol Hill, Leschi, Madison Valley, Madrona, and the Central Area. These neighborhoods are located east of downtown to the shores of Lake Washington. They are noted for walkability, quiet residential neighborhoods, close-in proximity to downtown, parks, hiking trails, shops, groceries, views of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains,beautiful sunrises, public transit and easy access to freeways.

Excluding townhomes, the median house sale here in the past six months is a three-bedroom, two-bath 2105sf house that sold for $465,000 in 38 days. 41% of the sales were identified as being in Madrona; 17% in the Central Area; 15% in Capitol Hill; 15% in Leschi; 11% in Madison Valley; and 1% elsewhere in 98122. Nine percent of sales in this zipcode this year were for bank-owned properties, up from 5% last year.

The median Madrona house sold for $465,000 or $215.28/sf; while the median Central Area house sold for $330,200 or $181.43/sf.

Last year in 2010, the median Madrona house sold for $647,500 or $270.92; while the median Central Area house sold for $389,995 or $216.66/sf. This represents a 21% decrease in median home values in the Madrona area; and a 16% decrease in median home values in the Central Area to date, as compared to last year.

On average, the median home price in the 98122 zip code has decreased 9% from median house sales in 2010. However, the number of transactions this year is up 8% over last year. This means buyers are increasingly seeing good value for the price. Sales in this zip code represent 5% of all Seattle sales this year.

Median values mean that half the houses sold for more and half sold for less.

There are several ways to interpret this data, and I welcome your comments. It may be that the types of buyers have changed in the past year, with more investors and cash buyers moving into the lower end of the market this year. It may be that there are more distressed properties being bought and sold this year. It may be that prices have fallen far enough that these areas now represent a good bargain for the savvy investor or homebuyer. It may be that the bottom is yet in sight. What do you think?