Rob Graham

Seattle continues to buck the national trend. While we have seen a downturn in home sale activity, prices have not depreciated very much. as we head into the busy buying season, inventory is returning to normal as well. The following graphs offer a glimpse of what has transpired over the past fifteen months.

Prices in Seattle are consistent with where they were a year ago. There is always a spike in activity during the warmer months and last year was no exception. While some would look at this graph and point to the peak of last summer compared to now as a significant depreciation in the value of their home, I think this is misleading. I think the highs of last summer are a reflection of a frenzied market that saw a lot of escalation clauses and over bidding in the market. The highs of those months are a slight over exaggeration of fair market value of homes.

Sorry about this graph running together at the top. Here is the important information about this graph. Yes, homes are taking longer to sell then they did a year ago. Even longer then they did a few months ago. If history holds true, the summer months will see a decrease in this number. Still the amount of time it is taking to sell a home is considerably below the national average and appears to be falling.

This graph requires a little explaining. It shows what we in the industry refer to as inventory. It is how we determine if we are in a buyer's, seller's or balanced market. The graph shows the relationship between how many homes are currently for sale and how fast people are buying them. The number for each month shows how many months it would take to buy up all the homes currently on the market at the current rate. If there are fewer the three months of inventory in a given month, we consider that a seller's market. If there are more then six months of inventory, we call that a buyer's market. In between three and six months of inventory, we call a balanced market, where neither buyers or sellers have a clear advantage. The bottom line is that the more houses that are available, the better it is for buyers. March's inventory number of 5.6 is just coming back into the balanced range. Yes this is above what we saw a year ago, but still a very healthy number.

Final thoughts, Seattle is in great shape. Yes the frenzy of the last few years has ended, but to be honest, that is healthy. We needed to reign in the escalating home prices. Big picture, Seattle remains one of the healthiest housing markets in the country.

If you would like a similar report for your specific neighborhood, I would be happy to send you one. Feel free to call or e-mail me to request your own report showing the information above for your neighborhood, as well as information on all the homes that have sold in your neighborhood in the past six months.

Rob Graham

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

This information was current as of April 22, 2008.

Single family homes in Phinney Ridge are still demanding attention. Unlike many neighborhoods in Seattle, Phinney Ridge has not become a buyer's market. Things are still ballanced in that neighborhood despite time on market being up significantly over last summer.

Condominiums show a different trend. Condos in Phinney Ridge are showing similar days on marrket, but with a lot more inventory. As such the Buyer's have the edge here. Still with interest rates still low, and summer around the corner, the market may be about to wake up.

As a residential real estate specialist, my focus is on finding and selling first and second homes all over the Seattle area. If you are in the market for a home or looking to sell your existing home and need help, please don't hesitate to call, click or e-mail me. I'd love to help.

The following information was current as of April 20th, 2008. Neighborhoods included in this report are Admiral, North Admiral and Belvedere.

The Admiral neighborhood continues to be a hidden jewel in Seattle's crown. Just a few minutes from downtown, yet is has the great feel of a quiet suburban neighborhood. In recent years, Admiral has undergone a bit of a face-lift and introduced more shopping without loosing its bedroom roots. It has introduced some new condominiums but as you can see, is predominantly a single family home neighborhood. While market time has gone up along with the rest of Seattle, prices are stable and the market trend is showing that buyers have only a slight advantage in the current market over sellers. All in all Admiral is a great place to buy.

As a residential real estate specialist, my focus is on finding and selling first and second homes all over the Seattle area. If you are in the market for a home or looking to sell your existing home and need help, please don't hesitate to call, click or e-mail me. I'd love to help

The following information was current as of April 15th, 2008.

Maple Leaf continues along the trend with much of the northeast region of Seattleand is still in good shape. While many neighborhoods are squarely in favor of buyers, Maple Leaf is still balanced. In fact if my office is nay indication, there has been a significant upturn in activity in recent days. We are heading into the busy season and rates are still low. Rates did tick up overnight, but nothing to be alarmed about.

Thinking of selling your home? Enroll in my free home sellers program. Receive a report showing market data in your neighborhood along with all the homes that have sold in your area in the past six months. Included with the report, you'll get a free booklet called "Sell Your House Fast, For Top Dollar". As an added bonus you will be added to my newsletter list to receive even more information on selling your home each month. All free! Call, click, or e-mail me to get started.

This information was current as of April 14th, 2008.

Really interesting trend here. There is a marked difference between the 98119 and 98109 zip code areas. 98109 is experiencing a clear buyers market while 98119 is ballanced for both single family homes and condos. There is typiclaly a difference between the two but I did not expect it to be so pronounced. There is about 80% more inventory in 98109 then 98119.

As a residential real estate specialist, my focus is on finding and selling first and second homes all over the Seattle area. If you are in the market for a home or looking to sell your existing home and need help, please don't hesitate to call, click or e-mail me. I'd love to help.