Home sales outpace number of new listings for first time in 5 years!!!

NWMLS KIRKLAND, WA. (Dec. 5, 2011) – Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported 6,103 pending sales during November, marking the seventh straight month of double-digit year-over-year increases.

Last month's total number of mutually accepted offers was 22.4 percent higher than the same month a year ago. It also marked the first month since December 2006 that the number of pending sales surpassed the number of new listings (6,043), prompting discussions of possible inventory shortages. "As we head toward the end of the year, it's certainly good to see a healthy number of buyers relative to the available inventory for sale," said Mike Grady, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Bain. "In fact," he noted, "there are some desirable neighborhoods in urban core areas where the case could be made there are too few homes currently for sale." At month end, there were 30,650 residential listings in the MLS inventory across 21 counties, down nearly 17 percent from a year ago. For the listing service map areas covering Seattle, the database shows a year-over-year drop of about 32 percent. "Entering the New Year, the Seattle metro area will start off with a shortage of inventory in both the more affordable and mid-priced ranges," suggested J. Lennox Scott, CEO and chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate. He noted a high percentage of sellers are receiving offers within the first month or two of listing their homes. Despite the smaller selection, the listings in the MLS database covering all counties span a wide price range: 400 homes are priced at $50,000 or less and 65 residences are listed at $5 million-plus. For homes and condominiums that sold last month, the median selling price was $225,000, down 10 percent from the year-ago median price of $250,000. Single family home prices were off 8 percent from a year ago ($234,612 versus $255,000), while condo prices slipped more than 17 percent ($169,000 versus $204,500). Brokers point to distressed properties, which tend to be deeply discounted, as a primary cause of lower prices. Bank-owned homes continue to put downward pressure on pricing, reported Northwest MLS director Matt Deasy, general manager of Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc. For the four-county Puget Sound region, a check of the Northwest MLS database shows more than one-fourth (26.8 percent) of the single-family homes that sold last month were classified as distressed, up from the year-ago figure of 21.9 percent.

SFH only	Nov. 2011			Nov. 2010
	Total	Bank owned	% bank owned/REO	Total	Bank owned	% bank owned/REO
King	1538	327	21.26%	1092	163	14.93%
Snoh	680	201	29.56%	499	138	27.66%
Pierce	710	268	37.75%	591	172	29.10%
Kitsap	191	41	21.47%	178	43	24.16%
4-co ttl	3119	837	26.84%	2360	516	21.86%
(*REO is a class of property owned by a lender - typically a bank, government agency, or government loan insurer - after an unsuccessful sale at a foreclosure auction. – Wikipedia)

For the MLS market overall (21 counties), the number of closed sales jumped 36.2 percent, rising from 3,583 completed transactions during November 2010 to last month's total of 4,879. "Home prices continue to get dragged down by foreclosures and short sales, which is disappointing given how strong home sales are," said OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate. "We probably won't see drastic changes in prices until the banks work through the distressed inventory," he noted, adding, "but we expect the pace of this process to pick up over the next several months, so hopefully by this time next year we'll be singing a different tune." Kitsap County was one of the few areas to register a price gain. The median sales price edged up slightly more than 1 percent, from $230,000 to $232,500. "One month does not make a trend," acknowledged MLS director Frank Wilson, while noting the change in direction to a positive number is encouraging. Wilson, the branch managing broker at John L. Scott's Poulsbo office, expects Kitsap County will benefit from last week's surprise announcement of a contract extension between Boeing and the Machinists Union, since Kitsap often feels an echo effect of what happens on "the other side." If ratified, he said the contract "will definitely help our area (particularly the northern part) in the long run as buyers will continue to see a significant price difference between Seattle-side real estate and what they can buy in Kitsap." (According to Northwest MLS data, the median asking price on current listings of single family homes in Kitsap County is $289,000, while in King County it is $370,000, about 28 percent more.) The "fantastic, recent news coming out of Boeing is going to secure thousands of jobs in the area," said J. Lennox Scott. With that news, combined with momentum from other major area employers, "we are seeing solid, renewed demand for local housing," he remarked. Job growth, historic low interest rates and an elevated number of residential investors taking advantage of favorable market conditions are contributing to "a healthy level of sales activity, one of the best in the nation." One of the sub-markets with vigorous activity is North Seattle, reported Mike Grady. The number of homes currently in escrow nearly matches the number still available for sale, a condition not seen since the boom years of 2005 and 2006, according to his analysis. He is also encouraged by the small ratio of distressed properties. Grady said fewer than 6 percent of North Seattle properties waiting to close escrow are ‘short sale' transactions, which he said is "a positive trend our brokers will be keeping a close eye on in the weeks and months ahead." Northwest MLS director Wilson cautioned some of the statistics for November and December should be viewed "with a grain a salt." Buyers and sellers tend to think more about family time and the holidays, and sellers may choose to postpone listing their home until the New Year, or take them off the market during the holiday season, he explained. Although some sellers, buyers and brokers "check out" during the holidays, Wilson said there is an interesting dynamic that takes place. Houses that are on the market are being looked at by more motivated buyers, buyers who are very focused, he noted. "This is an interesting dynamic that happens every year," he added. Wilson's observation is bolstered by findings from a Realtor.com survey, which found the vast majority of respondents, 79 percent, said more serious buyers were one of the biggest benefits of listing during the holidays. Less competition was an advantage cited by 61 percent of the survey respondents. The majority of respondents, 74 percent, said pricing a home to sell is even more important during the holidays, while an even higher number, 80 percent, said online listing photos were particularly crucial since buyers visit fewer open houses and sellers are less inclined to schedule them during the busy holiday season. Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state. Statistical Summary by Counties: Market Activity Summary - November 2011

Single Family Homes + Condos	LISTINGS		PENDING SALES	CLOSED SALES
	New Listings	Total Active	# Pending Sales	# Closings	Avg. Price	Median Price
King	2,236	8,790	2,486	1,944	$360,515	$290,000
Snohomish	947	3,817	1,041	806	$254,126	$229,950
Pierce	977	4,777	1,048	758	$198,562	$184,848
Kitsap	304	1,595	239	203	$277,251	$232,500
Mason	94	729	49	45	$181,448	$147,500
Skagit	130	958	112	96	$270,768	$192,500
Grays Harbor	83	771	68	57	$144,545	$115,000
Lewis	78	696	61	48	$157,580	$144,950
Cowlitz	93	506	81	62	$154,155	$131,495
Grant	67	514	59	46	$147,861	$135,220
Thurston	279	1,513	274	223	$226,563	$215,000
San Juan	17	421	14	11	$481,636	$366,000
Island	110	853	87	80	$281,137	$239,500
Kittitas	36	469	37	44	$240,545	$196,175
Jefferson	32	520	39	27	$248,544	$225,000
Okanogan	36	379	21	15	$197,456	$220,000
Whatcom	214	1,494	214	176	$234,439	$208,000
Clark	43	208	42	93	$224,098	$197,000
Pacific	39	385	24	20	$128,022	$118,250
Ferry	3	60	5	3	$171,333	$165,000
Clallam	56	421	28	35	$220,809	$185,000
Others	169	774	74	87	$191,788	$175,000
MLS TOTAL	6,043	30,650	6,103	4,879	$280,168	$225,000

4-County Puget Sound Region Pending Sales (SFH + Condo combined) (Totals include King, Snohomish, Pierce & Kitsap counties)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2000	3706	4778	5903	5116	5490	5079	4928	5432	4569	4675	4126	3166
2001	4334	5056	5722	5399	5631	5568	5434	5544	4040	4387	4155	3430
2002	4293	4735	5569	5436	6131	5212	5525	6215	5394	5777	4966	4153
2003	4746	5290	6889	6837	7148	7202	7673	7135	6698	6552	4904	4454
2004	4521	6284	8073	7910	7888	8186	7583	7464	6984	6761	6228	5195
2005	5426	6833	8801	8420	8610	8896	8207	8784	7561	7157	6188	4837
2006	5275	6032	8174	7651	8411	8094	7121	7692	6216	6403	5292	4346
2007	4869	6239	7192	6974	7311	6876	6371	5580	4153	4447	3896	2975
2008	3291	4167	4520	4624	4526	4765	4580	4584	4445	3346	2841	2432
2009	3250	3407	4262	5372	5498	5963	5551	5764	5825	5702	3829	3440
2010	4381	5211	6821	7368	4058	4239	4306	4520	4350	4376	3938	3474
2011	4272	4767	6049	5732	5963	5868	5657	5944	5299	5384	4814