Snohomish County home sales strong, prices drop

EVERETT -- Home sales soared in the Puget Sound area last month despite steep drops this winter in most other areas of the country, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Thursday.

In Snohomish County, home sales rose 53.5 percent in February and pending sales were up 71 percent.

The strong sales came as home prices in the county continued to drop. The combined median price for single-family homes and condominiums last month was $269,000, a drop of $32,750, or 10.85 percent from a year ago.

Meribeth Hutchings, a Windermere broker in Lake Stevens and a member of the board for the listing service, said price was certainly a factor in the strong sales growth.

Homes are more affordable, mortgage rates are at all-time lows, and employment in the state appears to be on the rise, she said. All signs point to a strong spring.

The strong sales in Western Washington were dramatically different than what's happening in most other areas, where sales have dropped.

Nationally, pending home sales fell by 7.6 percent in January, Lawrence Yen, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, reported Thursday.

He noted that many areas are still dealing with severe winter storms and that sales are lower than expected given the available credits to home buyers on their federal income tax.

The tax break, which began last year, was extended until this spring and would provide $8,000 for first-time buyers. Existing homeowners buying a new home can qualify for a $6,500 tax break.

Dick Beeson, a Tacoma broker, said he believes there's a lot of pent-up demand for homes in the region and that people are buying as prices fall.

In King County, prices have stabilized more than in Snohomish County. The median price there in February, meaning half the homes sold for more and half sold for less, was $343,500, just a 1.3 percent drop from a year ago. The median price in King County was nearly $75,000 more than in Snohomish County.