Here’s a recap of what happened in the Bothell, Washington real estate market in July 2007. The area this information pertains to is shown on the map to the below (provided courtesy of the NWMLS). Though slightly cut-off, this area’s southwestern border is Hwy 522 (east to west) and 68th Ave NE in Kenmore (north to south). Click on the map to enlarge.

Summary:

Single-family resale homes - Slightly fewer houses sold for negligibly less money in July, but took about three weeks longer to sell than those in June. Though there are slightly more buyers buying this year, there are many more sellers selling. The results are longer market times/cooling prices for sellers and greater selection/ability to negotiate for buyers.

If you’re planning to sell your home, it’s crucial to allow no less than 90 days. The average market time our area was 83 days last month, but (to echo what I said on last month’s recap) in order to sell within this timeframe your home has to be priced very competitively (i.e. 5-10% less than any brand new homes in your neighborhood, and lower than 80% or more of the homes that are direct competition to yours). With a few exceptions, no experienced agent will agree to market your home for less than 90 days given current market conditions (doing so would be a disservice to you). And while selling your home without professional representation (“For Sale By Owner”) has always been possible, it is much less likely at this time given the swell in housing inventory. Understand that buyers are still buying (the sky is by no means falling) – the Seattle market is just returning to a level of “normality” that we haven’t seen in several years.

The buyer’s market continues for this market segment.

Resale condos - Sales were down slightly vs. June but up significantly vs. last year. Condos sold about 2.5 weeks quicker last month than in June, and prices increased between 10-13%. Even more than last month it’s a good time to sell your condo and upgrade to a detached home, or roll it into another investment property via a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Like I’ve mentioned before, the current buyer’s market means your condo’s equity may get you more home than it would have in the past. For investors, low vacancy rates all around the Sound bode well for rental demand and income. Seller’s market in this segment.

Newly-built single-family homes - Sales were up vs. both June and last year. Prices dipped very slightly, and more homes sold on the lower end of the price spectrum than the upper. Seller’s market continues in this segment.

New condos -  Sales are down vs. June but up vs. last year. With fewer units sold in July, the median price decreased and the average increased compared to June. 

Resale single-family and condominium homes: (“Resale” means pre-owned/not newly built.)

• A total of 301 resale homes were listed for sale last month - 51 of these were condos. This brought the total number available to 963 in July.
• 188 of these homes sold - 28 were condos.

► The median selling price* of resale single-family homes was $466,592 in July, down less than 1% ($3,408) from June’s $470,000 median. The average sale price was $509,011, down negligibly ($246) from June’s $509,257 average.

► The median selling price* of resale condos was $261,475 in July, up 10.5% ($24,745) from June’s $236,730 median. The average price was $276,188, up 12.7 % ($31,041) from June’s $245,147 average.

* “Median” means half the homes sold for more than this amount and half sold for less than this amount.

• Resale single-family homes sold in July were on the market an average of 83 days – three weeks longer than in June and nearly twice as long as in July 2006.
• Year-to-date, resale single-family home sales (in terms of total sold) are nearly exactly what they were at this time last year. (From Jan. 1 through the end of July 2006, 1,035 homes had sold; as of the same time last month, 1,034 sold.) 
• Resale condos sold in July were on the market an average of 46 days – 17 days shorter than in June and 32 days longer than in July 2006.
• Year-to-date, resale condo sales are 65% greater than last year at this time.

Newly built single-family and condominium homes: 

• A total of 87 new homes were listed for sale last month - 26 of these were new condos. This brought the total number available to 495 in July.
• 58 of these homes sold - 1 was a condo.

► The median selling price of new single-family homes was $509,950 in July, down less than 1% ($1,750) from June’s $511,700 median. The average price was $548,891, down 2.5% ($14,297) from June’s $563,188 average.

► The median selling price of new condos was $272,950 in July, down 7.6% ($19,173) from June’s $253,777 median. The average price was $272,950, up 7.1% ($18,107) from June’s $254,843 average.

• New single-family homes sold in July were on the market an average of 129 days – 28 days longer than in June and 57 days longer than during July 2006.
• Year-to-date, new single-family home sales are up 16.9% compared to the same time last year.
• New condos sold in July were on the market an average of 48 days - 6 days shorter than in June and 6 days longer than in July 2006.
• Year-to-date, new condo sales are up 5.9% compared to last year.

Could this data be presented in a way that’s more visually appealing and/or understandable? Do you have questions about how to interpret what’s been presented? Please let me know by leaving a response below, giving me a call at (206) 465-3698, and/or sending an e-mail to jay (dot) matthews (at) century21 (dot) com.  I’m also happy to provide the same data for specific neighborhoods outside the Bothell area by request.  

This data was taken from reports published by the NWMLS.