The housing bubble some analysts predicted earlier in the year still hasn’t burst. Despite a shortage of listings, homes in Snohomish County continue to sell quickly at near-record prices, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Thursday.
And more of the same is predicted for the remainder of the year as buyers try to beat rising interest rates and possible competition from payouts to Boeing Co. Machinists and former Microsoft temporary workers who recently won a court case.
| SNOHOMISH COUNTY
Listings: 3,164, down 18.8 percent from a year ago. Pending sales: 1,362, up 8.23 percent. Closed sales: 1,392, up 18 percent. Median price: $310,00, up 18 percent. Time on market: 40 days, down 12 days. ISLAND COUNTY Listings: 556, down 20.17 percent. Pending sales: 153, down 20.69 percent. Closed sales: 194, up 3.7 percent. Median price: $271,050, up 13.4. Time on market: 66 days, down 28. |
“The inching up or threat of higher interest rates, together with the Microsoft payout, should help prolong our active market,” said Ken Bacon, a Redmond real estate broker on the board of the listing service, which tracks home sales in 15 counties.
He was referring to checks averaging $8,429 that will be mailed later this month to 8,600 Microsoft contract workers who recently won a $72 million payout stemming from a 1992 class action suit.
“The payout could be a boost for marginal buyers who suddenly have a down payment or closing costs,” he said.
Boeing Machinists will get a contract ratification bonus averaging about $5,000 by the end of November. They’re also expected to put in a lot of overtime to catch up on jet deliveries, creating a second group of people with money in their pockets.
For September, the combined median price of homes in Snohomish County was $299,000, up more than 20 percent from last year, or nearly $60,000. The figure includes the prices for both condominiums and single-family homes. Median means half sold for more and half sold for less.
Prices for single-family homes alone, which broke the $300,000 level in August and rose to $311,000, slipped a bit to $310,000 in September. By comparison, the combined median price in King County was $349,898, and the single-family median was $381,250.
The most expensive homes in Snohomish County were in the Maltby area near the King County line, where the combined median price was $402,327. The lowest prices were in Arlington, Marysville and Stanwood, where the median was $260,750.
In all areas of the county, prices were 20 percent higher than 12 months ago.
Herald writer Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459 or benbow@heraldnet.com.
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