U.S. existing home sales up 2.4%

Apologies for the long blog layoff. An upswing in the Seattle real estate market means I have a bit less time for writing on the blog! But here we go...

The Seattle Times published an article this morning that existing home sales in the U.S. are up 2.4%. Because many of these sales are short sales or bank owned properties, the median sales price dropped to $173,000 for the national average. Read the full article here.

The western states saw an increase in home sales by 16%. In fact, this article from the Seattle Times mentions how hot the Seattle real estate market is for homes under $400,000. Seattle sales are down 33% from one year ago but up from March of 2009.

All this data is great but what does it mean? Well, it's still too soon to say we've reached bottom on either a national or local level. Three months of increasing sales is great, however it's only three months. I personally think we are starting to see signs of reaching the bottom in the lower priced tier (under $400k). Unfortunately, the pricier homes may still see a decline.

Price per square foot by neighborhood

Are you curious to know how your neighborhood's value has performed over the last 15 months? Below are charts depicting price per square foot up through March of 2009. The charts below represent large MLS areas that span a more than one neighborhood. If you would like a more accurate report on your specific house, give me a call.

Ballard/Green Lake/Wallingford/Greenwood

Central Seattle/Madison Park/Capitol Hill

West Seattle

North Seattle

Richmond Beach/Shoreline

Queen Anne/Magnolia

Downtown Condos

Residential Architecutre Snapshot: The Bungalow

These narrow, rectangular one and one-half story houses originated in California during the 1880s as a reaction to the elaborate decoration of Victorian homes. The style then moved eastward to the Midwest in the early 20th century, where it remained popular until the Great Depression. Bungalows have low-pitched gabled or hipped roofs and small covered porches at the entry. The style became so popular that you could order a bungalow kit from Sears and Roebuck catalog. The name "bungalow" had its origins in India, where it indicated a small, thatched home. This style of home is common throughout Seattle but are very prevalent in neighborhoods such as Queen Anne, Wallingford, Ballard and parts of Greenwood.

Interest rates under 4%?!

You better believe it! Sterling Savings Bank and Banner Bank are offering mortgages with interest rates under 4% in an effort to stimulate home sales and aid builders in moving inventory.

Read more about it here.

First-time home buyers success stories

This is another article from the Seattle Times (the city's last print newspaper) on a couple success stories involving first-time home buyers in Seattle. Every situation is different but there are certainly many deals to be had here in Seattle. Since when can a person buy a home for $350k in a great Seattle neighborhood?!

Read the full article here.

Homebuyers emerge for spring season

I hope that this blog can offer fair and objective takes on various aspects of the real estate market here in Seattle. The last thing I want this to be is a sounding board for every positive piece of news regarding real estate and nothing realistic or sobering. I especially have a distaste for "glass half full" people that like to skew statistics and information to make everything sound peachy! That being said, I have a direct investment in seeing this market turn around for the better...so I get excited when I see articles published such as the one below. This article does a good job of stressing caution when looking at the recent gains in home sales. Furthermore, since Seattle eased into the housing slump versus crashing into it, our area may also see a more gradual rebound.

Read the full article here.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Let's hope it's not a train! The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent in February compared with January. This pushes total activity to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. This surge is good news to analysts who where expecting continued declines. However, construction activity remains 47.3% lower than a year ago...so February's gains must be viewed with some expectation of more housing troubles to come. All area's of the country posted increases in construction activity except the west, which has been hit hard by the slump in housing.

Read the full article here.