home sales hit a 15-year high in September
Home buyers remained very active throughout King County last month even as the school year got underway and concerns persisted around the impact of the pandemic’s second wave. Demand has been strong for all home types.
Strong demand, combined with limited supply, has unsurprisingly yielded relatively rapidly increasing prices, with the median price of condos up 9%, and that of ground- oriented homes up 14%, compared to last year. These are the fastest year-over-year price increases seen since the middle of 2018. Continued low interest rates and the ongoing job recovery (uncertain as its trajectory may be) have combined to create fertile ground for the county’s housing market. With stock markets once again wobbling, and the fixed income market mostly returning less than a penny on the dollar, hard assets such as residential real estate look evermore attractive to end users and investors alike. With all of this in mind, it is conceivable that sales counts in 2020’s remaining months could give September a run for its money.
Most of the attention given to the September housing market statistics for King County have, rightfully so, focused on the sheer number of transactions that took place. Indeed, the 3,755 sales tallied last month were the most for a September in at least 15 years (9% higher than the next-highest September, in 2016), were up 43% versus September 2019, and were 41% higher than the past-decade average for the month. A less heralded observation from recent months is the existence of what appears to be a sort of “Covid-effect” within the County’s housing market. Specifically, while condos accounted for 21% of all sales during the 12 months before the pandemic took hold in April, they have accounted for 19% of sales since then, with buyers increasingly looking for larger homes with more outdoor space.
As real a trend as this may be, the condo market has nonetheless been very active: the 715 condo sales in September were the most in any month since May 2019, were up 34% year-over-year, and were 27% higher than the past 10-year average. As Oscar Wilde might have said were he a current- day housing analyst, the death of the condo market has been greatly exaggerated. The number of homes for sale, on the other hand, remains constrained, with September’s 4,958 total listings representing the second- lowest September total in 15 years (only 1% higher than 2017’s 4,910). Additionally, the total number of homes for sale in King County was down by 25% last month compared to September 2019, and was 45% lower than the past-decade average for the month. This was led by ground-oriented home types, whose September inventory was 58% lower than the long-term historical average.
Copyright © 2020 rennie group of companies. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the rennie group of companies. Current as of August 12, 2020. All data from Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley & Rennie. While the information and data contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. rennie group of companies does not assume responsibility or liability for any inaccuracies. The recipient of the information should take steps as the recipient may deem necessary to verify the information prior to placing any reliance upon the information. The information contained within this report should not be used as an opinion of value, such opinions should and can be obtained from a rennie and associates advisor. All information is subject to change and any property may be withdrawn from the market at any time without notice or obligation to the recipient from rennie group of companies. E.&O.E. 3
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