Number of Kent homes for sale drops in January

Published 1:15 pm Friday, February 14, 2014

The number of Kent homes for sale in January dropped 16 percent compared to the same month in 2013.

Kent homeowners are driving prices up by holding onto their precious inventory, according to numbers compiled by Redfin, a Seattle-based real estate company.

Redfin agents report that many potential sellers are waiting to list because they can’t find a suitable home to buy and they believe they’ll get an even better price for their home if they wait a few months.

A snapshot of the Kent numbers in January compared to the same time last year:

• Home prices were up 4.6 percent. The median home price was $215,000.

• Sales were down 2.6 percent with 75 homes sold.

• Homes sold 3 percent faster, spending an average of 48 days on the market.

• Inventory was down 16.2 percent

Redfin publishes Real-Time Home Price Tracker at redfin.com.