Seattle June 2007 Home Sales

August 10, 2007

Seattle region home sales gained momentum in June, climbing above May's level as they normally do, but still fell 23 percent short of last year, marking the sharpest annual sales drop in more than six years. The median sale price set a new record in June, in part because sales have generally declined more in lower-cost areas, which now account for a smaller percentage of total transactions, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 7,247 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in June in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. That was up 5.6 percent from 6,864 in May but down 23.1 percent from 9,148 in June 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, Calif. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

June's sales total was 3.1 percent lower than the region's average 7,559 sales for the month of June over the past decade. June marked the 13th consecutive month in which regional sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis, and the 23.2 percent annual decline was the largest for any month since sales fell 25.3 percent in March 2001.

The Seattle area's sales dropoff was most pronounced in the lower price categories. For example, June sales of homes priced below $200,000 fell 23 percent compared with June 2006, while sales of those priced from $300,000 to $400,000 fell just 9.7 percent. That compares with a 10.5 percent annual increase in sales of homes priced from $400,000 to $800,000. The 293 homes that sold with either a price or loan amount of $1 million or more in June marked a 9 percent increase from the 269 that sold in June 2006, public records show. Sales of homes selling for $2 million or more rose about 31 percent, from 36 in June 2006 to 47 this June.

A zip-code-level analysis of sales shows communities dominated by homes in the lowest price ranges typically saw bigger annual sales declines in June compared with more expensive zip codes. The more affordable zip codes accounted for a lower percentage of the region's total sales, while the most expensive ones had a slightly higher percentage of all sales this June compared with last. Though moderate, this shift in market share toward more expensive communities puts upward pressure on the median sale price, aside from whatever appreciation might be occurring.

The median price paid for all homes combined in June was a record $365,750, surpassing the region's previous peak of $360,000 in May and up 7.6 percent from $339,950 in June 2006. Though the median continues to rise, appreciation is throttling back: A year ago the June median jumped 17.2 percent on a year-over-year basis. And the last time the median saw a lower annual gain than this June's was back in August 2004, when it rose 6.5 percent.

Each of the region's three counties posted record overall median sale prices last month (resale and new homes combined): King County's was $413,700, up 9.2 percent; Pierce County's $280,000, up 2.4 percent; and Snohomish's $355,000, up 7.6 percent.

Another gauge of home pricing, the median price paid per square foot for resale single-family (detached) houses, climbed to a new record of $270 in King County in June but slipped below record levels set the month before in Pierce and Snohomish counties . The overall metro area’s median per square foot rose to a record $240 in June, up 9.3 percent from a year ago.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA
	# of Sales			Median sale price
	Jun-06	Jun-07	%Chg	Jun-06	Jun-07	%Chg
Resale houses	6,001	4,557	-24.1%	$357,500	$394,500	10.3%
Resale condos	1,333	1,109	-16.8%	$242,000	$269,950	11.5%
New homes	2,084	1,581	-24.1%	$354,900	$374,950	5.6%
All homes	9,418	7,247	-23.1%	$339,950	$365,750	7.6%

 

Media calls: Andrew LePage (916)456-7157 or John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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