Bright Spot in the Market

I started to read an article online in the Seattle Times real estate section that started off pretty grim - until it got to the part about Seattle's housing market. Seattle, the article states, continues to be the bright spot in real estate.

The economist referenced in the piece, Lawrence Yun, believed that Seattle will continue as a "bright spot" while the national market will bottom out his quarter and begin to rebound in mid-2008. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004012642_realtor14.html.

Getting back to specifics about Bainbridge, I just scanned the MLS to see that just 9 houses and 2 condos have gone under contract on Bainbridge in November. While the 2007 market is still on pace with sales in 2006 it will be interesting to see where we end up for the year. Here are some stats:

Year-to-Date % Change through Nov. 15th, 2007 compared to 2006

• # Sales, Single Family Homes: -4.4%
• Median Sale Price, Single Family Homes: +4.7%
• Total $ Volume, Single Family Homes: +6.6%
• # Sales, Condominiums: -8.8%
• Median Sale Price, Condominiums: +54%
• Total $ Volume, Condominiums: +26%

The condo market numbers are striking. The median sale price in 2007 was up more than 50% of 2006. So, while volume of sales is slightly down in both the condo and single family market, price appreciation is healthy as is overall volume.

Wind Shift?

Market activity has picked up in the past couple of weeks. The first half of October (10/1 to 10/15) was dead slow, with two single family houses going under contract, one of which is contingent on the sale of the buyer's home. Two condos went into contract oe of which is also a contingent sale.

The second half of October was a different story. Seven houses and four condos went into contract, a 600% increase in the single family residential market and a 100% increase in the condo market. While the numbers over the last 2 weeks of October still don't make for a blazing hot real estate market it does make me wonder if it's a fluke or if there has been a real wind shift. Only time will tell...