Seattle Market Review

Seattle inventorySeattle housing prices rise as U.S. cities post solid gains:

U.S. home prices jumped 12.1 percent in April from a year ago, buoyed by strong demand and a limited supply of available homes. Strong gains in most cities measured point to a broad-based housing recovery. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index released Tuesday also showed a 2.5 percent increase in April from March, the biggest month-over-month gain on records dating back to 2000.Source: The Seattle Times, July 2, 2013 http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021266046_caseshillerxml.html

New apartments in Seattle area don’t halt rise in rents:

Despite the construction of more new apartments this year than in any year in the past two decades, rent prices in King and Snohomish counties have continued to rise while vacancies remain low, according to a leading research firm. While the price bump doesn’t bode well for renters, the relatively seamless absorption of more than 2,000 new apartments indicates a healthy rental market, said Tom Cain of Apartment Insights, an industry analysis firm.Source: The Seattle Times, July 1, 2013 http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021308680_rentpricesxml.html

Seattle-area Realtors ‘desperate’ for more houses as market sizzles:

Low- to mid-priced houses for sale in Western Washington are getting as many as seven offers, a real estate group said Wednesday. Rising mortgage rates, tight inventory and declining unemployment are driving more buyers into what is already an “extremely competitive housing market,” said OB Jacobi of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.Source: Puget Sound Business Journal, July 3, 2013 http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2013/07/03/seattle-area-realtors-desperate-for.html?ana=e_sea_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2013-07-05&u=g3qEy5+PUIyH77YLguBBiC7bz23&t=1373382927

King County median home price up 12.5 percent from June 2012:

The recession may have permanently hit paychecks and the number of jobs available, but median prices for homes sold in the Seattle area are approaching the peak hit six years ago before the housing market tanked. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Wednesday that the median sale price of a single-family home in King County in June was $427,500, up 12.5 percent from the same month a year ago and up 2.4 percent from May. That’s just $27,500 from the highest median price of $455,000, July 2007.Source: The Seattle Times, July 3, 2013 http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021322836_junehomesalesxml.html

Residential real-estate market makes recovery:

After a bumpy 2011 and a slow-starting 2012, there is no disputing the residential real-estate market this year has pulled out of the depths of the mortgage crisis. For the last 18 months, the median home price in King County has gone up each month when compared to the same month a year ago. Since January, the median price also has gone up each month from the previous month. Median means half the homes sold for more, half for less. The high-water mark was set in July 2007, when the median price of a single-family home in King County was $481,000.Source: The Seattle Times, July 13, 2013 http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021376857_sundaybuzz14xml.htm

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