News from NW Multiple Listing Service
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 6, 2008

July’s Pending Home Sales Dip Slightly From June, Prices Edge Up

KIRKLAND, Wash. (August 6, 2008) – Inventory remained plentiful during July, pending sales nearly matched June’s volume, and last month’s selling prices edged up from June in more than half the counties served by Northwest Multiple Listing Service, according to a new report.

“Considering the market adjustment because of the sub-prime mess, we're doing better than expected,” said NWMLS director Dick Beeson, broker/owner of Windermere/Commencement Associates in Tacoma.

Northwest MLS brokers reported 6,350 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) during July. That volume was down slightly from June’s total of 6,470 sales, which was the highest level in ten months, and off about 26 percent from the same month a year ago. Ten counties reported more pending sales in July than in June.

Prices showed resiliency in many areas, despite being about 8 percent lower than a year ago for the area overall. The median selling price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums across the MLS service area was $310,000. For the same month a year ago, it was $337,500 and for June it was $314,900. Ten counties reported price gains for July’s transactions compared to sales that closed in June.

For the four-county Puget Sound region, the median selling price for single family homes and condominiums (combined) was $340,070, slightly more than June when the price was $340,000.

This may be an historic opportunity to buy in Washington State, suggests Scott Jarvis, director of the state’s Department of Financial Institutions. He believes the true nature of the state’s real estate market has been lost among the national headlines.

Among reasons Jarvis cited for optimism were attractive long-term mortgage rates, generally stable prices, a relatively strong local economy, and local availability of loans from various institutions DFI oversees. “Excellent financing options” exist for homebuyers with reasonably good credit, “including great programs for first-time homebuyers,” he noted in a statement.

Northwest MLS brokers added 13,093 new listings to inventory during July. That was nearly 1,800 fewer than the number of residences (14,875) added the same month a year ago. At month end, buyers could choose from 51,694 total active listings, up about 9.7 percent from the year-ago inventory of 47,106 listings.

The current selection includes 43,688 single family homes and 8,006 condominiums.

“Buying smart in today’s market got a little easier last week following the signing of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 by President Bush,” remarked J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. “The passing of this legislation marks the beginning phase of the next 10-year housing cycle in which prices in the more affordable markets will only continue to appreciate,” he stated, adding, “Contributing to rising prices is population growth, the impact of Generation Y, inflation, and growth management.”

Scott believes homes in the more affordable price ranges in many markets have already adjusted and the new housing legislation will continue to boost this positive momentum. He expects increased sales in the more affordable markets will set a new foundation for housing, helping to stabilize the overall real estate economy.

Beeson described July as a month of transition with the passage of the federal housing bill and new incentives for first-time buyers. Despite persistent uncertainty among would-be buyers, he said his Tacoma office had its best month for sales so far this year, spurred in part by brisk sales in the medium to lower price ranges, first-time buyers utilizing incentives, and shrinking inventory in Pierce County. (The number of active listings is down 6.6 percent from a year ago.)

“The balance of the year appears to portend more even-handedness in the market place,” Beeson commented. Serious sellers are pricing properties more realistically, he reports. “While it is not 2005, 2006 or even 2007, we are beginning to see more balance between demand and supply,” the veteran Realtor noted.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member brokers, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes approximately 31,000 brokers and agents. The organization, based in Kirkland, currently serves 19 counties, mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state.

Statistical Summary by Counties: Market Activity Summary - July 2008

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

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