Housing Market in Washington State Indicates Recovery
by Jean Groesbeck ~ March 5th, 2010KIRKLAND, Wash. (March 4, 2010) – Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported strong gains in home sales during February, with brokers pointing to several encouraging signs for a busy spring season. Improving consumer confidence and a looming deadline for homebuyer tax credits are helping to boost activity, according to NWMLS officials.
“We are entering what is traditionally our busiest home selling season,” said NWMLS director. The NWMLS director also reported “significant traffic” at open houses, which he attributes to the first-time homebuyer tax credit and rising consumer confidence.
Pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) jumped nearly 45 percent last month compared to a year ago, marking the 11th straight month of month-over-month increases. Closed sales also outperformed year-ago totals, rising 33.5 percent. Members tallied 3,214 completed transactions last month, up from the 2,407 closed sales for February 2009.
MLS members added 10,663 new listings to inventory last month, bringing the total number of active listings in the system to 36,350. That total is down 7.5 percent from the same month a year ago, creating a more balanced market that favors neither buyers nor sellers.
Move-up buyers are accounting for some of the surge in activity. Brokers credit the combination of a $6,500 tax incentive for qualified repeat buyers and thawing jumbo loan market as factors in spurring activity for this segment.
Interest rates on jumbo loans fell to 5.79 percent on a 30-year fixed-rate loan in the past few weeks. That’s a five-year low, according to Informa Research Services, whose clients include the nation’s top 25 banks.
Noting the peak real estate season is approaching, the MLS director pointed to several encouraging signs. “Homes are more affordable, mortgage rates are at all-time lows, and employment in the state appears to be on the rise,” said the MLS Director.
“All signs point to a strong spring,” she added.
Earlier in the week, the state Employment Security Department reported the state’s economy “picked up some steam in January,” adding an estimated 12,400 jobs – the first monthly gain since November 2008. The plethora of shorts sales and foreclosures has diluted the price point of many homes that are selling, making appraisals more challenging. Buyers should be reminded of the possibility of rising mortgage interest rates due to the Federal Reserve’s plan to stop buying mortgages by the end of March.
Click Chart to View Full Size
Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member brokers, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest.
© 2008 Jean Groesbeck & Assoc. LLC - Information on this blog is compiled from reliable sources, but information may be time sensitive and is not guaranteed. More information is available at www.JeanGroesbeck.com and additional blog posts at www.AnacortesRealEstateBlog.com




















