Home Buyers Starting to Seize Opportunities in Some Western Washington Areas

Pending sales during January jumped from the same month a year ago in 8 of the 19 counties in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) area. Last month's pending sales surpassed December's weather-hampered activity by nearly 1,100 transactions.

"The market seems to be gaining momentum, and buyers seem to be feeling more confident," reports NWMLS director Meribeth Hutchings. Agents are more optimistic and banks are getting more realistic on pricing bank-owned homes and bank-controlled homes (short sales), which are helping move that inventory, she stated. "The sooner we can eliminate that inventory, the sooner we will get back to a healthy market," says Hutchings, the broker/owner of Windermere Real Estate/Lake Stevens, Inc.

NWMLS director Dick Beeson, broker/owner of Windermere/Commencement Associates in Tacoma, agreed. Beeson attributes the uptick in pending sales to short sales along with low interest rates and a buyer pool that's "finally waking up to the excellent values in the marketplace.” Given the pent-up demand, he believes passage of a stimulus package with key elements for housing would spur a housing rebound.

Members reported fewer closed sales in January compared to a year ago, reflecting the slower pace of sales during the last few months of 2008. Prices area-wide slipped about 13.7% from a year ago.

Condo prices were unchanged from a year ago. Condos that sold last month had median selling price of $250,000, which compares to a price of $249,950 for sales that closed during the same month a year ago. In King County, which accounts for about two-thirds of the NWMLS condo sales, prices increased 3.4%, rising from $270,500 to $279,750.

"It's pretty clear that the real estate train came to a complete stop over the past few months," acknowledges NWMLS Pat Grimm, owner/broker of Windermere Real Estate/Capitol Hill, Inc. "The good news is that the train was moving pretty fast before and now people have an opportunity to get aboard." Affordability is the key, according to Grimm. "With interest rates and prices down, dream properties are within reach again and we're starting to feel the train building up steam."

Officials from the National Association of Realtors® say "significant uncertainty" still clouds the housing market despite improved affordability conditions. "For a sustainable housing market recovery and, hence, sustainable economic recovery, we need a significant housing stimulus and mortgage availability for qualified borrowers," stated Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

~ Courtesy of NWMLS