Seattle Housing Buzz

John L. Scott has also launched an enhancement to its interactive mapping tool on www.JohnLScott.com. Now, visitors to John L. Scott’s website can view sold home information right along side homes for sale (see below). John L. Scott originally launched comparable sold property information in 2006 which appeared on its own mapping interface, but with this latest enhancement, consumers can view all homes for sale as well as those that recently sold on one interactive map.

Sold properties will now show along side active properties; solds in red and actives in blue.

In addition to the map, a list option is available:

By default, the sold listings are included in the search results. Users can remove the sold listings by unchecking the “Show Sold Properties” box:

In fact, I would suggest unchecking the box before viewing the listings in the Gallery view otherwise the solds will be included:

Tags: Home Search, John L Scott, Sold Data

Quadrant Homes received an Environmental Excellence Award in continuous improvement in resource conservation from the Association of Washington Business (AWB). The AWB presented nine awards to companies that have demonstrated initiative, innovation and outstanding achievements in environmental compliance, protection and conservation.

“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award from the Association of Washington Business that recognizes Quadrant’s longstanding leadership in environmental stewardship,” said Peter Orser, president of Quadrant Homes. “From how we manage a site, to the building materials we use and our efficient homebuilding process, we are committed to sustainable practices that help improve our region’s quality of life.”

Quadrant re-engineered its design and construction processes that reduced framing materials by 30%; implemented electronic transactions that reduced paper usage by 2.5 million sheets over the past 2 years; and is a leader in environmental building, constructing over 4,700 Built Green certified homes.

Tags: , Built Green, Quadrant Homes

Most professions have they own vocabulary, jargons and euphemisms employed to obfuscate the less desirable. And, real estate, like many sales professions, has its own set of doublespeak terms. Most are well known and are easily deciphered by smart buyers, some aren’t.

The Seattle PI’s Aubrey Cohen recently noted how listing agents are becoming more creative with their marketing remarks as the market changes. The sad thing about the article…there’s truth to it.

Here’s some of my faves from the article:

• Very quiet interior: You can barely hear the freeway with the windows shut.
• Seller has left you to your own imagination: Hasn’t been updated since 1940.
• Turnkey: Just overhauled, complete with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances…and laminate floors.
• Walk to Fremont: Fremont’s 20 blocks away.
• Unique: Remodeled by someone on acid.

The article noted a Canadian university’s study on the impact that words have on selling time and pricing. “Move-In”, “Motivated” and “Beautiful” apparently incite buyers to make offers sooner and at a premium.

Hmm, “motivated” doesn’t quite seem to equate to higher prices or faster selling times in Seattle. If anything, it’s a beacon to buyers that the seller is desperate and the listing is stale.

My personal pet peeve is the ever expanding neighborhoods that listing agents create. Somehow Maple Leaf, Northgate and the Oak Tree area have been annexed to Green Lake. And, apparently, Ballard now extends to the Shoreline border. Then, again, Bainbridge condos were once transplanted to downtown Seattle.

Tags: , Seattle, Seattle Real Estate, Selling Real Estate

November 7th: Fortune Magazine calls the Seattle metro area one of twenty-five markets poised to fall. Over the next five years they predict a drop of 19.5%.

November 15th: Forbes says Seattle’s housing market is undervalued.

But the good news is that market slumps often result in good buys, and solid investments get tagged with bargain prices due to the volatile market. One place to look for these deals is the housing sector, where worries about a continuing dip in home prices are keeping many buyers on the sidelines, and keeping a lid on prices. Looking across the country for undervalued markets, we came up with five picks for city markets or submarkets that are cheap based on what their particular market fundamentals suggest.

…the latest Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller housing index numbers suggest Seattle prices are still strong. The numbers don’t really tell the full story, though, since they’re a running average, not a daily spot-price index.

They also fail to consider the condo market. Talk to builders or investment analysts about Seattle’s condo or multifamily construction market, and they’ll say there’s no glut. In 2002 and 2003, the condo and A-class rental market experienced a huge inventory over-expansion from too much multifamily construction–which either became rental apartments or condos–and was in no position to grow during the tail of the housing boom.

Tags: Seattle Real Estate

King5 TV’s Robert Mak recently asked that question on his Upfront program. And, Lennox Scott, CEO of John L. Scott, answered that it is. Scott stated that the historically low mortgage rates, a stable economy and the reduction of multiple bid situations make it a good time to buy.

Tags: Home Buying, John L Scott, Seattle Real Estate

Well, not quite. When compared to a year ago, yes, King County’s active listings (single family homes & condos) are up 44.3% from the prior year…but that’s been the case for most of the year.

In actuality, when compared to September, the inventory level fell 2% in October to 14,240 listings in King County. Seattle’s overall inventory inched up slightly by 2.6% to 4,197 listings.

Pending sales in the county increased 7.4% and in Seattle by 9.8% from September to October. Compared to a year ago, pending sales are down 28.5% in the county and 20.5% in Seattle. Pending sales reflect properties that went under contract but have not yet closed. In other words, more buyers made home purchases in October compared to September, though fewer overall compared to the same period last year. The median price in county and city fell to $387,500 and $396,250, respectively.

The inventory absorption rate decreased to 6.0 months in the county and 5.3 months in Seattle. What this means is that if no new listings come on the market, it will take 6 months to sell the current inventory in the county and 5.3 months to sell the inventory in Seattle. A lower absorption rate indicates a seller’s market while higher rates reflect a buyer’s market. A year ago, Seattle’s absorption rate was 2.7 months and the county’s was 2.9 months. Currently, inventory levels in the county and city reflect a normal market environment.

For condo specific market information, please visit the Seattle Condo Blog’s Seattle Condo Sales Performance - October.

Source: NWMLS (single family homes & condos)

Tags: Absorption Rate, Seattle Housing Data

Housing Activity Still Slower Than Year Ago, But Showing Some Signs of Reviving

KIRKLAND, Wash. (Nov. 6, 2007) – Pending sales perked up around Western Washington in October, reversing four months of month-to-month declines, according to new figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The report also shows some slowing in both listing activity and price appreciation.

Brokers reported 6,127 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) across the 19 counties served by Northwest MLS. That total includes 379 more transactions than September (a 6.6 percent gain), but still lagged activity of a year ago. Compared to the same month a year ago, October’s pending sales were down about 28 percent.

MLS members added 11,785 new listings to inventory – the fewest number since February when they added 11,333 new listings. With those additions, there were 47,381 active listings of single family homes and condominiums in the MLS system, about 31 percent more than a year ago.

The current selection includes 40,252 single family homes with an area-wide median asking price of $375,000 and 7,129 condominiums, listed at a median price of $289,900.

Read more »

Tags: NWMLS, Seattle Housing Data