2016 Year End Stats

NWMLS Monthly Press Release

Home buyer frustration continues due to limited selection;
price increases

Like many other months of 2016, December was frustrating for buyers across Washington state as they encountered depleted inventory and rising prices. Post-election hikes in interest rates - with more on the horizon -- added to would-be homeowners' worries.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service statistics for December show year-over-year drops in new listings, but gains in pending sales, closed sales and prices. Pending sales (mutually accepted offers) in the four-county Puget Sound region reached their highest level since 2005.

At month end, MLS figures show inventory (10,571 listings) was nearly 15.6 percent below year-ago levels (12,522 listings), with about 90 percent of the selection being single family homes.

Seventeen of the 23 counties in the MLS report had double-digit drops in active listings at the end of last month compared to December 2015.

NWMLS members reported 6,401 pending sales during December, up from 5,970 for the same month a year ago for a year-over-year gain of 7.2 percent.

King County recorded the biggest year-over-year jump in pending sales of single family homes, surging nearly 11.3 percent, well ahead of Kitsap (up 4.5 percent), Pierce (up 4 percent) and Snohomish (up 3.2 percent).

Prices area-wide also continued trending upward, rising nearly 9.2 percent from a year ago. The overall median price for single family homes and condominiums that sold during December was $343,950; a year ago it was $315,000.

King County prices jumped 12.2 percent, from $450,000 in December 2015 to $505,000 for last month's sales. For single family homes (excluding condominiums) the median price for December's sales was $550,000, unchanged from October and November. Prices peaked this year in King County in June, reaching $573,522.

Consumers should expect prices to continue edging upward as the pattern of low inventory and increasing prices continues.

Happy Investing!

Record-breaking Home Sales

Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported 88,331 closed sales during 2015, outperforming the prior year’s volume of 77,276 transactions for a 14.3 percent increase.

Measured by dollars, last year’s sales of single family homes and condominiums were valued at more than $34 billion. Compared to 2014, that dollar volume represents a gain of nearly 23 percent.

Last year’s completed sales included 75,975 single family homes (about 86 percent of the total) and 12,356 condominiums. The total units and dollar volume surpassed the previous highs during 2007 when members registered 82,197 sales valued at $32.3 billion.

Year-over-year prices for single family homes (excluding condominiums) increased almost 8.5 percent system-wide, rising from $295,000 in 2014 to last year’s median price of $320,000. Condo prices jumped 13.3 percent, from the 2014 figure of $225,000 to last year’s median selling price of $254,900.

During 2015, the average area-wide supply, as measured by months of inventory, fell to 2.4 month, down from the previous year’s figure of 3.5 months. King County had the lowest level, averaging only 1.3 months of supply. Industry analysts tend to use a 4-to-6 month range as an indicator of a balanced market, favoring neither buyers nor sellers.

Among other highlights in its annual compilation of statistics, Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported:

• About 46 percent of last year’s single family home sales had three bedrooms, while the vast majority of condos (73 percent) had two bedrooms or fewer.

• The median price for a 3-bedroom home that sold in 2015 was $283,250, about 7.9 percent higher than the previous year’s figure of $262,500. 

• Of the condo sales, about six of every 10 (61.9 percent) were located in King County, primarily in Seattle or on the Eastside. That ratio matched the figure for 2014.

• Newly built condos fetched higher prices than single family homes. Last year’s sales included 8,548 newly built single family homes that sold for a median price of $425,000, and 1,018 condos that sold for a median price of $449,950.

2015 Housing Recap

The latest report from the NWMLS shows the year 2015 ended on a mostly positive note with pending sales, closed sales and prices all showing year-over-year increases.

Not surprisingly, listing activity dropped, in part because some sellers are balking at listing their home for fear of not finding a replacement.

The price of a single family home (excluding condos) that sold in King County during December jumped nearly 15.5 percent, from $440,000 to $508,000,

Area-wide there was just under 1.8 months of supply, with four-to-six months generally considered to be a “balanced” level. In King County, inventory dropped to less than one month (0.84). MLS figures show active listings in King County were down 39 percent (about 1,400 fewer properties) from 12 months ago.

Condo prices increased about 6.7 percent, from $239,000 to $255,000. In King County, which accounted for about 55 percent of the sales, the median sales price was $279,975. That’s up about 7.7 percent from a year ago.

Forecasts for 2016 all look strong for Sellers looking to cash in on their equity. For a free online evaluation of the value of your property in today's market, please send a private message to HomeLandInvestment@gmail.com with your name, contact information and property address.

Happy New Year!

Happy Investing!