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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, June 6, 2008 Snohomish County home sales slow in May Mike Benbow Herald Writer EVERETT -- Snohomish County's housing market remained sluggish in May as listings continued to increase, sales dropped and prices slipped from previous year levels, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported. Some brokers blamed newspaper reports on the national economy and poor housing for the lack of an expected revival in local sales. Others said the continued cold weather hasn't helped. And at a couple suggested that potential buyers who are still sitting on the fence may regret it. "There are such great opportunities for buyers right now to position themselves for the future," J. Lennox Scott, chairman and chief executive of John L. Scott Real Estate, said in a news release. He noted that interest rates are historically low, there's a healthy inventory of homes to choose from and higher loan limits have increased affordability. Scott isn't the only one watching rates. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has strongly hinted that a long series of rate cuts may be over, out of concern that any more could increase inflation. Diedre Haines, a broker at Coldwell Banker Bain in Lynnwood, said her office had its best volume in May since the previous August. She also said she's seen more multiple offers. "We're seeing more increase in activity," she said. Throughout the county, sales were down more than 43 percent. Pending sales were down 41 percent, which doesn't bode well for this month's sales figures. The combined median price for single-family homes and condominiums was $329,950, a 6.74 percent drop from a year ago. That's consistent with prices during the previous few months, indicating they may have stopped falling. While overall prices have slipped, prices for condominiums have gone up. The median price for condos in May, meaning half cost more and half cost less, was $263,750, a nearly 10 percent increase from a year ago. Real estate agents would like to see all prices climb, but Dick Beeson, owner of Windermere/Commencement in Tacoma, said cool wet weather has been a factor. "I expect both temperatures and the market to heat up as summer approaches," he said. Beeson said his open house traffic is picking up and he is seeing some waiting buyers step up and making a decision. "Buyers are realizing that interest rates may creep up, and they would be in a worse position if rates went up 1 percent than if prices fell 5 percent," he said. Mike Skahen, a multiple listing service director of Lake & Co. Real Estate in Seattle, said there really wasn't a spring buying season this year as people stayed on the sidelines to see what would happen with prices. "When the press gets less negative," he said. "It's going to push buyers off the fence and they'll regret having waited.

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