Strong sales continue to whittle down a dwindling supply of homes. The lack of supply to meet demand kept driving home prices upward in September. While the Puget Sound area saw steady appreciation over a year ago, there are signs that that the frenzied level of growth may be starting to moderate – good news for a market that was starting to look unsustainable. Click the images below for the full reports.
Eastside
The Eastside continues to lead the region in home values. The median price for homes sold in September was $680,000, an increase of 12 percent over a year ago. Sales were up as well, with many homes selling within days of being listed. As a result, inventory is at historic lows, with only a six week supply available. That is far below the three to six months of supply that is considered to be balanced.
King County
Home prices rose a moderate seven percent in King County as compared to last year. The median price for a single family home in September was $490,250. Areas farther from the urban core are relative bargains, with the median price in Southeast King County coming in at $344,975, and at $304,000 in Southwest King County. Inventory remained tight throughout the region, with just five weeks of available supply.
Snohomish County
While the 1.7 months supply of inventory in Snohomish County is still far below what is considered a balanced market, it represents more home choices than what’s available in King County. Home prices are considerably more reasonable as well. While the median price of a home increased 8 percent over last September in Snohomish County, the $355,500 median price is nearly 30 percent less than the price of a home in King County.