Sales Volume Down One-Third From Last Year's Levels

Sales volumes continue to decline. You may recall that in June the volume was down by 24 percent. It's now off by 33 percent.

Last year there had been 291 homes sold by the end of August. This year we have sold 195 or 67% of last year's levels. Sales numbers are down in every price point with the higher-priced homes showing the strongest declines.

Many of our upper-level priced homes are purchased by out of area buyers and while Washington state has not suffered from the sub-prime debacle as several other areas of the country have, a downturn in the other markets does have a reflection in ours. It is not uncommon to hear buyers lament, "Our home hasn't sold yet so our plans are on hold."

Homes sales for the $500,000 - $599,999 level are off by 75% and those priced from $400,000 - $499,999 are down by 61 percent. Homes sales for those priced above $600,000 are off by 58% followed closely by homes in the $300,000 - $349,999 range; off by 59 percent. The $350,000 - $399,999 priced homes are down 55% from last year's sales level.

We have a much stronger inventory of homes priced to $199,999 with 71 currently available. Last year there were 48 at this time. And even though lower-priced homes have sold well this year, the level is down 18 percent from ‘07.

The next segment of homes, $200,000 -$249,999, is almost identical in inventory from this time a year ago with 63 currently available, versus 65 in 2007 but the sales volume has dropped 31 percent.

There are 13 fewer homes priced from $250,000 - $299,999 (74 versus 87) than we had available last year and the sales volume has dropped almost 28 percent.

So what does it all mean for someone who wants to sell? Has the market tanked? Are people losing money because home sales levels are falling? In short, no.

Real estate, despite what the infommercials would have you believe, is a long term investment. Some years the return is much better than others and if you look at only this year you are not seeing the whole picture. Look instead at what has happened to your home's value since it was purchased. While the appreciation may not be as dramatic as you had hoped for in the short term, overall home values have and will continue

to grow. Washington is a very desireable place to live and the influx of people will keep pressure on the markets and that will fuel appreciation. Planning forecasts anticipate an average of 100,000 people a year moving into the state through 2015.

Yes, this year there are fewer buyers and in a market where values are determined by activity, it is a great time to be a buyer. But even if you don't make the killing you were hoping for selling your home, odds are your investment has made a sustantial gain in value. And while it may take longer to sell, bear in mind that only the homes that are listed will be the ones that someone will buy.