Home prices fall as winter sets in

By MIKE BENBOW

Herald Writer

Snohomish County home sales increased in October, but prices dropped significantly as the real estate market prepared for the winter doldrums.

The combined median price of single-family homes and condominiums in the county was $184,950 in October, down nearly $10,000 from last month. The September median was a record $194,808, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which collects data from real estate agencies.

Single-family homes alone sold for a median price of $191,000 and condos sold for a median $140,000. The median means half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Snohomish County home prices were second in the Puget Sound area to King County, where the combined median was $232,500, the median for houses was $250,000, and the median for condos was $154,688.

While prices slipped locally, it likely doesn’t indicate a weakening of the home sales market. The number of sales and pending sales last month were up both from the previous month and from the comparable month last year, so the market remains strong.

The average home spent 53 days on the market in October, one day longer than the previous month. Again, that’s typical as the holidays near, a time when many people take their homes off the market.

Here’s a quick rundown of sales for the areas surrounding and including these communities:

Arlington, Stanwood and Marysville: There were 168 homes sold in October in an average of 50 days for a median price of $166,500.

Camano Island: Homes here took the longest to sell, an average of 97 days, and had a median price of $179,425.

Cathcart/Maltby: There were 103 homes sold for a median price of $222,000, the highest in the county, and in an average of 58 days.

Everett, Mukilteo, Mill Creek: The most homes, 273, were sold here. They did so in an average of 46 days for a median price of $185,000.

Lake Stevens, Granite Falls, Darrington: Eighty-one homes sold here in an average of 70 days for a median price of $170,000.

Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace: Homes here always seem to sell the fastest. In October, it was an average of 37 days. The median price was $209,950.

Snohomish, Monroe, Gold Bar: The 105 homes sold spent an average of 68 days on the market and had a median price of $185,950.