By Erin Flemming
Special to the Reporter
As summer continues on, Bellevue’s local market is remaining steady – with the name of the game being increased inventory and strong buyer demand. Julia Nordby, office leader and business coach of John L. Scott’s Bellevue-Main office, said sales in June were healthy and are likely to continue that trend into July.
“As local inventory builds in Bellevue, we’re seeing more opportunities for buyers,” Nordby said. “When crunching the numbers, the average price per square foot sold in Bellevue currently is up 8.2 percent from one month ago. This is big for sellers looking to secure top dollar for their home.”
The increase in available inventory is expected around this time of year, said Kristi Auld, a broker at John L. Scott’s Bellevue-Main office.
“Moving into July, inventory numbers should remain about the same or begin to dip slightly, but opportunities will continue for buyers to see slightly less competition than they’ve been experiencing over the past few years,” Auld said. “Sellers who have priced their homes correctly and have prepared their home to be market ready on day one of their listing can still expect to see very positive results moving into mid-summer.”
Though buyer demand for homes remains strong, Bellevue-Main broker Tim Auld said it’s important for sellers to be aware of the increase in inventory and current buyer sentiment.
“The additional inventory we are seeing simply gives buyers more options,” said Tim Auld, who is on a team with Kristi Auld. “Armed with these newly found options, buyers’ attitudes have shifted from the buying frenzy to an optimistic ‘wait-and-see’ approach as they recognize the opportunity that the increase in inventory has given them. While buyer demand for homes remains strong, sellers can expect buyers to be patient and take their time writing offers as long as they continue to have options.”
Akin to local rising temperatures, the local tech market continues its hot streak, with Apple recently announcing that it plans to turn Seattle into a “key engineering hub,” hiring 2,000 new workers locally. Average tech salaries in Seattle put the city in the number-two position after San Francisco in the career marketplace company Hired’s annual State of Salaries report. Average tech salaries in Seattle over the past 10 years have shown a 10-percent jump – going from $125,000 in 2015 to $138,000 in 2018.
Overall, Washington’s economy is strong, with the state economy coming in first in a recent WalletHub study that took economic activity, economic health and innovation potential into consideration. John L. Scott Bellevue-Main broker Lan Nguyen said the big tech moves impact the luxury home market in Bellevue in notable ways.
“I’ve been working with a healthy mix of people coming from the Bay Area and New York City who are already looking to move to Bellevue, especially after the announcement in April that Amazon would be increasing their local presence,” Nguyen said. “Many tech executives and startup owners who recently cashed in are looking to Bellevue as their next move.”
