KIRKLAND — Regional experts in the real estate business say the federal homebuyer tax credit has stabilized the market and still has buyers shopping, even though the tax credit has lapsed.
“While the tax credit has gone away, the buyers haven’t,” said John “O.B.” Jacobi, general manager of Windermere Real Estate and a board member of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Commenting on the MLS summary report for April, Jacobi described the tax incentives, which expired April 30, as being the “lubricant the market needed,” but credits rising consumer confidence with “driving the engine now.”
Northwest MLS member brokers reported 9,438 pending sales during April, an increase of more than 36 percent from the same month a year ago. Of these mutually accepted offers, 7,368 of them were in the four county Puget Sound region — the highest volume in this area since August 2006. Grant and Pacific counties reported double the number of units sold in April versus a year ago.
The April MLS figures show inventory is nearly equal to year-ago levels, closed sales jumped almost 51 percent and sales prices in many areas reflect little variation during the past six months.
Commenting on the latest report, two industry leaders referred to market stability.
“The homebuyer tax credit did what it was designed to do; it helped with stabilizing the housing market which in turn helped stimulate economic recovery,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.
“It’s exciting to see the stability of the real estate market continue to improve,” said NWMLS director Bobbie Chipman, co-managing broker for Coldwell Banker Bain-Tacoma/Puyallup. “The tax credit seems to have accomplished its purpose. It motivated home buyers to enter the marketplace, creating a synergy that should propel us through the summer months.”
Brokers were upbeat when commenting on inventory and the pace of sales. NWMLS members added 12,664 new listings of single-family homes and condominiums during April, up from 10,824 for the same period a year ago. At month’s end, with these additions, there were 39,999 active listings in the MLS database.
With pending sales outperforming a year ago (9,438 for last month compared to 6,918 for April 2009), the months’ supply — an industry indicator of sales velocity — is shrinking. Systemwide, there’s about a 4.24-month supply, meaning at the current sales rate, if no other homes were put on the market it would take more than four months to exhaust the supply. For the four-county Puget Sound market, there is a supply of about 3.5 months.
Chipman said the current ratio of listings to pending sales speaks favorably to market growth.
“Whereas listings were static compared to April 2009, the number of pending sales increased more than 36 percent,” she said.
Prices continue to show modest dips from a year ago, with the overall median price, at $261,000, down 3.3 percent from 12 months ago. In Snohomish County, the median price for last month’s sales — including single-family homes and condos combined — was $273,000. That’s down $17,000 (5.86 percent) from a year ago. For single-family homes, the median price on last month’s closed sales was $280,000, down 6.65 percent from the April 2009 price of $299,950.
Jacobi said there are two types of homes on today’s market: Well priced homes in good condition that are selling within 30 days, and overpriced homes that will be sitting on the market a long time. He cited the example of a nice, two-bedroom home in Seattle’s Laurelhurst area with a view of Lake Washington that sold last month in two days for the $717,000 asking price.
Chipman echoed Jacobi’s sentiment. “As long as sellers remain realistic about the market value of their homes and the expectations of buyers, the strength of the market will grow.”
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