Two things are certain about today’s real estate market: statistics don’t tell the whole story, and technology is huge.
With regard to numbers, they’re useful in trying to understand what’s happened and where we might be headed.
On the national front, there are encouraging signs of a housing recovery:
● Sales of new homes rose 9.6 percent from June to July, according to the Commerce Department.
● The National Association of Realtors reported sales of existing homes rose to a two year high, marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase in existing home sales.
● Prices are stabilizing in many areas.
● Housing affordability is improving.
While these numbers are encouraging, it’s important to note that real estate tends to be local – local factors, such as unemployment rates, housing supply and the weather, influence activity. Also, foreclosures are expected to continue to be a factor, both in sheer numbers and the drag on prices.
Another important number is the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that is set to expire on Nov. 30. Several considerations bear mentioning.
Home sales in the Seattle area for June were the strongest for both moderately priced (under $272,143) and mid-range ($272,143 to $400,584) homes, according to the latest Case-Shiller report. For both categories, prices were up 0.8 percent in June. For more expensive homes, prices were unchanged.
In the four-county Puget Sound region, pending sales of single family homes and condominiums during August surged nearly 26 percent from 12 months ago, and reached the second-highest monthly total since August 2007.
Brokers are reporting some biding wars for low- and moderately priced homes.
Inventory is plentiful, but showing signs of shrinking in some sub-markets. For the four-county region, there is about a five-month supply of homes.
Realtors are embracing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and other social media tools for marketing and branding. They post details about upcoming open houses, video walkthroughs, and market statistics, among other content.
For brokers, listing syndication is a fast-growing medium for gaining online exposure on multiple, high traffic sites, such as Realtor.com.
With this area’s tech-savvy consumers relying on digital platforms to search for homes, they’re now able to plan open house tours and access other useful homebuying information anytime, anywhere.
Keith Nelson is owner/designated broker, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Executive, (based in Bellevue), and 2009 president, Seattle KingCounty Association of Realtors. He may be reached at his office is Bellevue, 425.455-5913; broker@exre.com.
