Seattle Area Real Estate Recap for August 2011

Stats are out for August and low inventory is still the theme… For King and Snohomish counties combined, active listings are down 2.4% from July and they are down 24% from August 2010. Meanwhile, pending sales increased 13% from July and are 47% higher than last year. Closed sales rose 5.4% from July and they are up 32% over last year.

Prices softened slightly since July to an average of $386,000 and $176/sqft. Again, this is an average between the two counties so this is pretty representative of prices in the north King and south Snohomish counties. Prices in Seattle will generally be higher and prices in Everett, for example, will average lower.

Average days on market are holding steady in the low 90’s and the sold price as a percentage of the original list price, is also holding steady at 93%. Finally, the evidence of low inventory also shows up in the Months of Inventory chart which is at a recent low at only 4 months.

At the beginning of last month, the stock market was having a wild ride. It has calmed down slightly, but with that turmoil, mortgage rates have remained very low. We are hovering right around an average of 4% for a 30 year fixed rate. So, we have low rates which is great for buyers, and we have low inventory, which is great for sellers. All in all, I see a very balanced market so there is really no excuse not to join in. 😉