NWMLS 2007 Homes Sales Brokers Report
(Press Release from the NWMLS)
Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service tallied more than $32.3 billion in sales of single family homes and condominiums during 2007 . The MLS also reported 18 of the 19 counties in its market area experienced increases in median prices compared to 2006, with one county matching the 2006 price.
In its year-end summary report, Northwest MLS, whose service area covers about 80 percent of the state’s population, logged more than 82,000 closed sales during 2007. Single family homes accounted for nearly 82 percent of the number of sales and about 86 percent of the dollar volume, with condominiums making up the balance.
Last year’s volume, measured by number of units, amounted to a drop of about 14.5 percent from 2006. The dollar volume, compared to the previous year, was down about 8.7 percent. Underscoring the “real estate is local” mantra, median price gains among the counties ranged from zero to nearly 16.1 percent.
Among highlights the broker-owned service noted for 2007:
- The median price for single family homes that sold last year area-wide was $342,000, up 5.9 percent from the previous year.
- Among the counties, the median selling price of a single family home (half sold for more, half for less) ranged from $154,500 in Grant County to $563,250 in San Juan County.
- Five counties reported double-digit price gains for sales of single family homes compared to 2006, topped by Lewis County at 15.9 percent.
- Condominium prices jumped 10.6 percent from 2006 to 2007. The area-wide median price rose from $235,000 to $260,000.
- Kitsap County topped the charts in price gains for condos. Last year’s median sales price of $337,400 was 82.4 percent higher than the 2006 figure of $185,000. Several new developments contributed to the price jump.
- 2,311 residences fetched more than $1 million, a 10.1 percent jump from the previous year. Of the million-dollar-plus sales, 2,186 were single family residences.
- The MLS area covering Bellevue/West of 405, including the “Gold Coast” district encompassing Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina, and Yarrow Point, had the highest number of million dollar-plus sales with 240.
- 1,115 condominiums sold for $500,000 or more (including 125 condos that sold for more than $1 million). Seattle’s Belltown area claimed the highest number of condos that sold for a half-million dollars or more, with 201.
- In the four-county Puget Sound region (King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap), less than 5 percent (4.68 percent) of single family homes sold for under $200,000. Nearly three of every 10 homes (28.9 percent) sold for $500,000 or more.
- Brokers added nearly 153,000 new listings of single family homes and condominiums to the inventory during 2007 (up from 140,449 the previous year).
- NWMLS members sold more than 15,000 condominiums, about the same number as the previous year (15,038 in 2007 compared to 15,318 in 2006). About 63 percent of all condos that sold were in King County.
- Single family homes accounted for about 83 percent of all residential sales. Of these transactions, more than half (52 percent) had three bedrooms.
- The second quarter was the most active for pending sales, with 31.4 percent of those transactions being written during April, May or June. The last quarter, reflecting the usual seasonal slowdown plus turbulence in the mortgage market, was the slowest, with only 17 percent of pending sales taking place during that timeframe.
- Counties within the MLS service area have wide variation of prices for 3-bedroom homes. For pre-owned homes (built 2005 or earlier) the median sales price ranged from $145,000 in Grant County to $500,000 in San Juan County. In King County it was $408,000.
- For new homes (built in 2006 or 2007), the most expensive homes are found in San Juan County, where the median selling price was $685,000. In Grant County the median price on new homes was $182,059, earning it the distinction of being the only county in the NWMLS service area with a median selling price under $200,000 for a newly built single family home.
- Mercer Island had the highest priced homes when comparing median prices by school district. Single family homes that sold in that district during 2007 had a median selling price of $1,081,250, followed by the Bellevue School District at $720,000.
- Measured by “month’s supply” last year’s average was 5.57 months (meaning it would take that long to exhaust inventory at the current sales pace). The national average is 10.3 months, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors®.
- Northwest MLS members maintained a high ratio of cross sales: about eight of every 10 sales (79 percent) were listed by one office and sold by a different office.
- In King County, the average price of a residence (single family home and condo combined) that sold in 2007 was $497,855, more than twice the price paid a decade ago (1997 - $213,821). For single family homes (excluding condos) that sold in King County last year, the average price was $564,468; in 1997 it was $230,345 and in 1990, the average sales price was $178,187.
Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member brokers, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes approximately 31,000 brokers and agents. The organization, based in Kirkland, currently serves 19 counties, mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state.
