Based on January 2010 sales for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue Metro Statistical Area (MSA) (encompasses King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties);
*A total of 2208 new and resale houses and condo’s were closed during January 2010, a 30.3% hike from January 2009.
*Total sales have risen on a year-over-year basis for 7 consecutive months.
*New home sales (364 units sold) made up just 16.5% of Seattle area sales (down from 23% a year ago and a 16 year average of 19%…caused by evaporating inventory?).
*Resale condos enjoyed the largest year over year sales gain, +68% from January 2009. Condo re-sales were 16% of the total market in January, up from 12.4% a year ago and a 16 year average of 12%.
*Sales of homes priced below $300,000 represented 53.7% of all January sales.
*January sales of homes $1,000,000 and higher (41 units) were just 1.9% of the total market, down from 2.9% in January 2009 (a peak of 293 units sold in June 2007).
*The median price paid for houses and condos combined was $287,000. The last time the median was lower was May 2005 ($279,950).
* Foreclosed homes rose to a record 28.5% of the overall sales total (vs. 23.9% in January 2009).
*However, foreclosure activity dipped, with just 698 foreclosures (SFR and condo’s combined) representing a 34.8% decline from December 2009.
*In the 12 months ending in January, 9,847 homes were foreclosed on in the Seattle MSA (for comparison, the similarly-sized San Diego MSA had approximately 26,000 foreclosures).
*First time buyers and investors make up the bulk of foreclosed home buyers.
*19.6% of all January 2010 sales were cash. My experience says that is a relatively high number. In Las Vegas, cash sales exceeded 50%!
*Use of FHA financing is decreasing, but still 34.1% of the overall market. Two years ago, FHA comprised just 5.4% of the Seattle market.
Possibly related posts:
