Life After Tax Credits: Part 2

Well, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service figures are in, and here are the results. Northwest MLS members reported 9,438 pending sales during April 2010, an increase of more than 36 percent from April 2009. Of these mutually accepted offers, 7,368 of them were in the four county Puget Sound region – the highest volume in this area since August 2006.

NWMLS brokers credit the increase to the effectiveness of the homebuyer tax credits and are optimistic about prospects for the future of the local housing market.

As of April 30, there were 39,999 active listings in the MLS database, about the same number as last April when inventory totaled 40,147 listings. There is now a 3.5 month supply of inventory in the four-county Puget Sound region, a rate that flips the market back to a sellers' rather than a buyers' market. Look to see well-priced homes sell in less than 30 days, and over-priced homes continue to sit on the market a long time....

The repeat homebuyers tax credit helped ratchet up home sales in the mid-price ranges, while there was a significantly higher increase in the number of high-end home sales. Last month, NWMLS members reported 93 closed sales of homes priced at $1 million or more, improving on last year's total of 52 such sales. Through the first four months of 2010, the number of closed sales at $1 million or more increased 65 percent from a year ago! Wealthy people know good deals when they see them!

The median price on last month’s closed sales of single family homes in King County was $375,000, only $5,000 (1.32 percent) less than a year ago.