Seattle Real Estate Report, May 2021
Washington Real Estate Market
Spring is a popular time to list a home for sale. This is true whether Seattle real estate or a home in Eastern Washington. Starting in March homeowners begin to list more and more homes with the new listings generally peaking in May. This year April saw more listings than May which is highly unusual, but this past year has been nothing but unusual. In May across the NWMLS there were 11,922 new listings (compared to 12,042 in April) with May pending sales slightly outpacing the new inventory with 11,969 mutually accepted offers. Thus at month’s end there was only 5,533 active listings. This was down drastically from the year prior (10,3257 listings). Indeed, if no new listings were added, we would be out of housing inventory in just over 2 weeks. Hence, year over year median price on May’s 9,374 closed sales is up 30%.
Single family homes (excluding condos) sold for 7.3% over asking price across the entire NWMLS. Meanwhile within King County, homes sold 9.5% over their asking price. Condos have seen a resurgence from a year ago when they were hit hard by the pandemic. Closed sales more than doubled from over a year ago. In addition, condo prices are up 21.7% from a year ago.
Seattle Real Estate Market
While the Seattle real estate market generally follows the trends of the NWMLS, which includes 26 out of 39 counties in Washington State, they are not always perfectly aligned.
Seattle Homes
The Seattle real estate market continues to be on fire. For instance, the average sales price for a Seattle house is $1.068 million up from $869,000 just a year ago. In addition, the sales have nearly doubled since last year. This year, 1,054 Seattle homes sold versus only 578 last May.
Multiple offers are common place. Most Seattle sellers are setting dates when offers will be reviewed, but Buyers are being very aggressive. Buyers are submitting offers above asking price prior to the stated review dates with early expirations. As a result, sellers have to make a difficult decision of waiting for potential other offers on the review date or accepting a very good offer early.
Whether sellers wait or not, the end result of this real estate market is homes on average are selling for 6.7% above list price. For example, Ewing and Clark’s client sold their home in the Bryant neighborhood in May. The home was listed for $860,000, but sold for $,1058,000. A 23% increase over their asking price!
Seattle Condos
Last year, the condo market was hit hard, but the Seattle condo market has fully recovered. The numbers are slightly skewed because the new NEXUS condo in Denny Triangle/South Lake Union sold over 40 units off-market last year for over $1,000 per square foot. New high rise condos almost always sell for more than condos previously lived in. But if you look at the Seattle condo market for listed condos, this year blows last year out of the water. This May 301 condos sold for an average of $610 per square foot while last May only 142 units sold for $577 per square foot. So more than double amount of condos sold this year for more money.
The most expensive luxury condo sold for $2.75 million this past month. The highest priced “condo” sale in May was a free standing building on the waterfront of Portage Bay that shares the property with a houseboat that is owned separately.
Seattle Luxury Real Estate
Seattle luxury sales have QUADRUPLED! This May there were 73 sales in Seattle for over $2 million, last May there were only 18 sales. In addition, average sales price was over $750 per square foot, while last year the average sales price was in the low $600 per square foot. Likewise, houses this May have sold on average for over $100,000 OVER list price while last year Seattle luxury homes on average of $80,0000 UNDER list price.
For instance, Vincent Mullally and Peter Neu sold their client’s Broadmoor home for $4.6 million after listing $4.275 million just 2 days prior.
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Nineteen Seattle waterfront homes sold this month with the highest priced paid for a Lake Washington waterfront home in Laurelhurst that sold for just under $5 million. A handful of the homes listed as waterfront were on minor creeks, and while they add to the ambiance of the home, the value added is relatively minor compared to the other waterways add value to those waterfront properties. For instance, the 5 homes on creeks in North Seattle sold on average for just over $1 million. On the other hand, there were 3 Lake Washington homes in North Seattle that sold for an average of just under $2 million. Furthermore, there were 4 Seattle houseboats that sold for an average of nearly $1.8 million. Finally 4 Puget Sound waterfront homes sold for an average of nearly $3 million.
Is Seattle Real Estate Slowing Down?
The simple answer is: no. Looking at May numbers, it shows the Seattle real estate market continues to be very, very strong. But every real estate market brings new challenges. To navigate the current issues, contact one of Ewing and Clark’s real estate agent. Ewing and Clark and its real estate brokers have been providing exceptional real estate service to Greater Seattle since 1900. Whether you are looking for a Medina waterfront home, a Downtown Eastside condo, or your first property, we can assist you in your search.
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5 Things To Do This May in Seattle
Even though the weather can be a bit unpredictable during spring, there are still plenty of indoor and outdoor activities around the city to enjoy. Here’s our list of 5