Real Estate Rebound in Seattle

Yes.. I have another article for you about the Seattle real estate market. I can't get enough of these. In the last few weeks there seems to be story after story about how Seattle is one of the top cities in the nation to rebound from these difficult financial and real estate times. Thank you, Michele, for the link!

According to SmartMoney Magazine, Seattle is holding strong through these tough economic times and is due for a nice rebound. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have some strong businesses, like Boeing, Amazon.com, and Microsoft, that are doing well and in turn, has kept median sales prices from falling far.

"The national unemployment rate for October was slightly higher than Washington's, at 6.5 percent. State officials said that indicates Washington's economy is 'in relatively better shape at the moment'." (http://www.kirotv.com/money/18007999/detail.html) The state gained about 800 jobs in October, and held steady year-over-year.

"Honestly, the near-term outlook is still grim, and nobody is forecasting a rapid nationwide rebound. But there are signs that the overbuilding and speculative pricing that inflated the bubble are working their way through the system. Nationally, the rate of decline in sales is slowing, and in some regions sales numbers have actually perked up. 'The indicators are starting to look better,' says Adam York, an economic analyst with Wachovia." (http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/Now-for-the-Good-News-on-Home-Prices/)

The article went on to mention that the national sales figures that get so much attention and remain depressing are brought down by boom-and-bust markets like Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix. "If hard-hit states like California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida are taken out of the statistical mix, the picture is much more promising." But we all know that real estate is local, so let's look at a Seattle neighborhood for insight:

WEST SEATTLE-

There were around 123 pending & sold listings in November of '07 as compared to November of this year were we have only 54. The month is not over yet so that number will increase (hopefully) but the median home price of those homes has only dropped by $20,000. In other areas of the country, those prices have dropped by 100,000's of thousands of dollars.

"Dave and Alison Keith recently sold their two-bedroom townhome in West Seattle for $289,000, up more than 25 percent from their purchase price four years ago. They plowed that windfall into a home in the same neighborhood with twice the living space and a fenced-in yard, for $429,000. 'You're always nervous, but I feel like things are holding up well here,' Alison says."

"As long as people like great views of water, mountains and city skylines, "those homes will always maintain their value," says local broker Febe Cude."

If you are interested in finding out more about your neighborhood or about the real estate process, the Egerer & Weidauer Team is happy to help. Give us a call or shoot us an email from our website.

206.661.7256 www.jeremyandnicolesellhomes.com 360.990.4083