Market Statistical Summary for November 2009
King County
King County Pending Sales were up, year over year, 74.3&% with an average List to Sales Price Ratio of 96%. The Average Sales Price was down 5.8% for the year to $453,000, but continues to gain strength as compared to the preceding months.. The Median Sales Price was down 4.3% to $375,000. The Months of Inventory was down 53.5% to 5.9 months from 12.7 months a year ago. The highlight of the King County stats is the Absorption Rate, which saw a 110% improvement over the prior year to 18.9% from 9%.
Eastside
The Eastside took the prize on almost every measurement of the market, lead by Pending Sales up 111.3% over the prior year. The List to Sales Price Ratio remained at 94%, reflecting strong negotiation in this market. The Average Sales Price was down 8.3% for the year overall with the Average Sales Price weighing in at $610,000. The Median Sales Price was down 10.3% to $500,000 reflecting greater sales of more moderately priced homes this year. The Months of Inventory was down 60.2% to 6.6 months from 16.6 one year ago. The resulting Absorption Rate was up a whopping 163.1% to 17.1% Absorption from 6.5% last year.
Mercer Island
Mercer Island continues a slow and steady climb to normality with Pending Sales increasing yet again with a 25% year over year gain. The List to Sales Price Ratio is up substantially from 89% one year ago to 93% today indicating momentum in price recovery, but still lagging behind stronger, more modestly priced markets. The Average Sales Price is down 37.5% from last year to $741,000 from $1,185,000. The Median Sales Price is down 33.9% to $701,000 from $1,060,000 indicating stronger sales activity at the lower range of the market. The silver lining can be found in two numbers that indicate the future direction of the market: Months of Inventory for sale has fallen 63.6% to 14.3 from 39.3 a year ago: the Absorption Rate is up 37.3% to 14% from 10.2% one year ago.
Seattle Metro
Pending Sales were up 60.6% over the prior year with a strong List to Sales Price Ratio of 97%. The Average Sales Price was down 4.4% to $475,000 from $497,000 a year ago. The Median Sales Price was down 6.7% to $387,000 from $415,000 the year before reflecting more sales at the lower price points. The Months of Inventory was down 53.1% to 4.5 months from 9.6 months the year earlier. The Absorption Rate was up a remarkable 96.7% to 23.8% from 12.1% a year ago indicating that the market is gaining substantial strength.
Definitions
Active Listings: All homes currently for sale but not yet sold.
Pending Sales: Homes under contract but not yet closed for that month.
Sold Listings: Homes sales closed in a given month.
$/SqFt: The price per square foot determined by dividing the sales price by the square footage of living space.
Average Sales Price: The average price of all homes sold that month.
Median Sales Price: The price that represents the mid-point of all homes sold that month where 50% of sales prices are above and 50% of sales prices are below.
List to Sale Price Ratio: Represents the comparison of sold price and list price of the homes sold (sold listings) as a percentage.
Months of Inventory: Represents the number of months of inventory on the market based upon the number of homes for sale (active listings) and the number of homes pended that month. For instance, if there are 1,000 active listings and 100 of them sold in a given month, it would take 10 months to sell the current inventory of homes for sale.
Rate of Absorption: Represents the percentage of the current active listings that are being absorbed (or pended) each month. For instance, if there are 1,000 active listings and 100 of them sold in a given month, the rate of absorption would be 10%. 10% of the market is being sold in that given month.
Seven of the twelve open houses scheduled this weekend on Mercer Island are for homes listed below $1,000,000. Two of the twelve island opens are being held today, Saturday Nov. 14th. Don’t forget, the 