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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2007 Home prices start falling in region Median prices increase by 6 percent in Snohomish County, but decline in Skagit, King and Pierce counties. By Mike Benbow Herald Writer Home sales continued to fall in the Puget Sound area in Oct-ober, and for the first time in many communities, prices went with them, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. That wasn't the case in Snohomish County, which recorded a combined median price for single-family homes and condominiums of $352,874 in October, a nearly 6 percent increase from October 2006. But median prices dropped by 0.97 percent in King County, by 1.42 percent in Pierce County, and by 3.48 percent in Skagit County. Earlier this year, prices had continued to rise despite strong increases in the numbers of homes put on the market while pending and closed sales fell. Median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less. Listing service director Joe Spencer, president of John L. Scott, said the numbers are following the typical pattern of home prices in the region: a two-year slump followed by a period of six to seven years of strong sales and rising prices. "Combine this with low interest rates and a healthy supply of homes to choose from and you have yourself the perfect buyer's market," he said. In Snohomish County, there were about 6,800 homes on the market last month, a 52-percent increase from a year ago. Both pending sales and closed sales dropped about 34 percent from a year ago. Sales have slumped in the area in recent months as lenders have tightened their requirements for home loans and potential buyers have been inundated with news about how the mortgage mess has strongly affected many parts of the country. In a multiple listing service news release, Mike Skahen, owner and broker of Lake & Co. in Seattle, said he's noticed "a definite slowing in buyer activity" that he doesn't expect to last long. Bellevue broker Kathy Estey agreed. "This is a time of opportunity," she said. Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.

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