Scarce inventory, new rules for mortgage closings and affordability concerns will likely slow home sales around Western Washington during the remaining months of 2015 and into early 2016, according to spokespersons from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
The latest statistics from the MLS show a double-digit drop in inventory, a double-digit jump in closed sales, and a near double-digit increase in prices from a year ago, prompting one industry leader to say the trends aren’t sustainable.
“We simply can’t sustain double-digit increases in sales when inventory levels continue to drop every month,” remarked OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate. “We’re on the cusp of a housing market slowdown,” he predicts.
Despite an expected slowdown, closed sales through the first nine months of this year are running 16.6 percent ahead of the same period a year ago, with median prices up 9.2 percent.
Single family home prices across the 23 counties in the MLS report rose nearly 7.6 percent from a year ago, from $297,500 to $320,000. Single family homes in King County commanded the highest median price at $490,250, up 6.6 percent from the year-ago figure of $460,000, but down from June’s high of $500,000.
In Bellevue west of I-405, closed sales for single-family homes in September 2015 were up 33.3 percent over the same month a year ago. The median sales price last month was $2,092,495, up 35.22 percent from a median sales price of $1,547,500 a year ago.
In Bellevue east of I-405, closed sales for single-family homes in September 2015 were up 2.94 percent over the same month a year ago. The median sales price last month was $668,500, up 6.79 percent from a median sales price of $626,000 a year ago.
The MLS report for September shows pending sales continue to outnumber new listings, resulting in inventory declines in most of the 23 counties in its service area. That imbalance leads to rising prices.
In west Bellevue, there were 38 listings in September 2015 and 40 closed sales. In east Bellevue, there were 63 listings in September 2015 and 68 closed sales.
Northwest MLS members reported 9,574 pending sales (mutually accepted offers) in September for a 7.9 percent increase from the year-ago figure of 8,875. Compared to August, pending sales fell 9.7 percent.
In west Bellevue, there were 47 pending sales in September 2015, up from 45 during the same month the year before. There were 43 pending sales in August 2015. In east Bellevue, there were 79 pending sales in September 2015, the same as in September 2014. There were 94 pending sales in August 2015.
The condo market remained hot in the 23-county report with both sales and prices up by double digits. Members reported 1,183 closed sales during September for a gain of nearly 30 percent from a year ago. Prices on last month’s sales jumped 13 percent, from $230,000 to $260,000.
“We’re coming off one of the hottest summer housing markets on record, and the second-best September on record for sales activity in the four-county area,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott. He attributes part of the surge to an interest rates drop in May, and the anticipation of rates increasing in the near future.
In west Bellevue, there were 28 closed sales in September 12015, up from 23 during the same month a year ago. In east Bellevue, there were 32 closed sales in September 2015, up from 23 during the same month a year ago.
The median sales price for a condo in west Bellevue was $654,000, up 39.15 percent from the median price of $470,000 the same month a year ago. In east Bellevue, the median sales price for a condo was $317,500 in September 2015, up 23.06 percent from the median price of $258,000 the same month a year ago.
Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned is based in Kirkland and serves 23 counties in Washington state.
