Puget Sound area home sales slow in March but prices up

Traffic isn’t the only thing that is gridlocked around many Puget Sound communities.

“We’re experiencing gridlock in the Puget Sound housing market,” said J. Lennox Scott in reaction to the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

MLS figures show pending sales across the 23 counties it serves dropped about 4.5 percent in March compared to the same period a year ago, according to a MLS news release. Inventory fell sharply – down more than 25 percent. Brokers say that imbalance helped spur a 9.4 percent escalation in prices area-wide, with 12 counties reporting double-digit increases.

During March, brokers reported 10,900 pending sales, about 500 fewer mutually accepted offers than a year ago for a drop of nearly 4.5 percent. For the four-county Puget Sound region, pending sales were down about 6 percent.

The year-to-date drop in pending sales versus first quarter 2015 is a reflection of tight inventory, according to MLS members. “It’s not for any other reason except there aren’t enough homes coming on the market to satisfy pent-up buyer demand,” said Scott. He also points to listing shortages for the steady escalation of home prices.

To illustrate his point, Scott cited figures for the single family component. In King County, pending sales for March declined nearly 11 percent, while prices spiked 20.7 percent. Pending sales of condos (excluding single family homes) were about the same as a year ago in King County, but year-over-year prices jumped 15 percent.

MLS members added 10,511 new listings to inventory during March, about the same as a year ago when they added 10,505 single family homes and condos to the offerings. At month end, there were 12,653 total active listings in the Northwest MLS system. That represents a drop of 25.6 percent from the year-ago total of 17,007 active listings.

“In today’s market sellers want to find their next home before they list their current home, but because of the severe inventory shortage it’s hard to win in a multiple offer situation,” Scott explained. He said some sellers are hesitant to put their home on the market because they fear it would sell instantly and they might not win their next home. “It’s a Catch 22 situation.”

Mike Grady, president and COO of Coldwell Banker Bain, noted closed sales outside of King County are outpacing year-ago levels. “This is most likely a reflection of the lack of affordability within King County and indicates that buyers are increasingly looking to other counties for their home purchases,” he remarked.

The median selling price on homes and condos that closed last month was $320,000, up 9.4 percent from twelve months ago when it was $292,500. Compared to February, prices rose nearly 4 percent. In King County, year-over-year prices for March jumped 11.5 percent, from $411,200 to $458,450.

For single family homes (excluding condos), prices area-wide are up 8.7 percent from a year ago. In King County, prices soared 20.7 percent compared to year ago, jumping from $440,250 to $531,250.

Condo prices shot up nearly 14.6 percent from a year ago. For the 1,075 sales that closed last month, the median price was $275,000. That compares to the year-ago sales price of $240,000.

MLS members reported 7,075 closed sales of single family homes and condos during March for a gain of 4.5 percent from the year-ago volume of 6,769. First quarter figures for King County show the number of completed transactions is trailing 2015 slightly (6,114 versus 6,148), but the total for the other 22 counties in the MLS report shows a year-over-year increase of 11.4 percent.

• Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership of nearly 2,100 member offices includes more than 25,000 real estate professionals. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 23 counties in Washington state.