« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »
April 20, 2006
First Quarter 2006 Western Washington Real Estate Market Update
Super Bowl fever may have stalled a quick start to the year, but a brightening picture for closed sales, prices, and inventory kept the real estate market warm during the first quarter of 2006.
January started slowly, but minor increases were seen in closed sales, which finished 8.7 percent higher than the same month a year ago, and inventory, which increased over 9 percent. Prices continued their upward climb as well. The median price of a home was up 14 percent, ranging from $139,950 in Grays Harbor County to $390,000 in King County. San Juan County’s median price was a whopping $910,000.
Fewer pending and closed sales in February did nothing to slow price increases. Though there were 12.6 percent fewer transactions during the month, the houses that sold did so for 13 percent more than they did a year ago. By the end of the month, increased inventory, better weather, job growth, and stable mortgage rates helped to create momentum and the numbers continued to climb.
Expanding inventory and attractive financing fueled activity during March as well. And home sale prices continue on their rocket pace. Ten of seventeen Western Washington counties reported pricing increases of 20 percent or more over a year ago. In King County, the median price for a single family home (excluding condominiums) was $405,000. While $260,300 was the median price for a home in Pierce County.
While buyers are taking a bit longer to decide, well-priced houses continue to draw multiple offers. As we enter the busy spring season, prices are expected to appreciate at a healthy pace. Thanks to the influx of newcomers to the area, combined with strong job growth, the additional inventory seen during the first quarter isn’t expected to dampen home values or sales. And as long as the Puget Sound economy continues to strengthen, the vigor of the current housing market is expected to sustain.
Posted by beaubetts at 12:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 18, 2006
Recent Experience with Zillow
Recently I had the pleasure of dealing with a seller who had used the Zillow.com to determine what the value of his home was. According to Zillow, the home was worth $820,000. Now according to my research (via the NWMLS and title records) the homes market value should be somewhere between $740,000 and $760,000. On top of that, another home that they were interested in was shown by Zillow to be worth $60,000 to $100,000 less than what it was listed at.
Read the rest of my story on The Seattle P-I Blog: Seattle Real Estate Professionals.
Posted by beaubetts at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 13, 2006
Google and Real Estate
Google has married their Google Base site with Google Maps to provide a more cohesive real estate offering.
Read the rest of my story on The Seattle P-I Blog: Seattle Real Estate Professionals.
Posted by beaubetts at 1:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
National Home Sales To Level
The National Association of Realtors released their April 2006 Housing Forecast that states that home sales should generally level out yet remain at historically high levels.
Read the rest of my story on The Seattle P-I Blog: Seattle Real Estate Professionals.
Posted by beaubetts at 1:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I've Been Hired By The Seattle P-I
Well, not really. But, I have been chosen to be one of the official real estate agents to write for the new Seattle P-I Real Estate blog titled, Seattle Real Estate Professionals.
It's "an assortment of real estate professionals discuss contemporary housing issues, facts, analysis and other information about state and national housing, plus rental markets, current real estate conditions, forecasts, gossip and opinion. They all make their living in the real-estate business in the Seattle area. But this blog isn't about selling. It's about sharing what they know or believe about the market -- in their own words."
So come on by and get the inside scoop on what's happening in real estate in the Seattle area.
Beau Betts provides Seattle real estate services. Contact Beau Betts in order to sell a Seattle home or Seattle condominium property for the best possible price....quickly and professionally.
Posted by beaubetts at 11:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 9, 2006
Real Estate Blogs
If you are interested in reading other real estate blogs, here are some that I read to help me keep abreast of all that's happening out there!
Seattle P-I: Real Estate Professionals
New York Times Real Estate Blog
Tales of a Seattle Real Estate Investor
Posted by beaubetts at 11:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
