{"id":4930,"date":"2016-06-06T08:57:02","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T08:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/easyrealestatehelp.info\/agent\/?p=4930"},"modified":"2016-08-09T08:58:01","modified_gmt":"2016-08-09T08:58:01","slug":"housing-inventory-shortages-persist-despite-increase-in-new-listings-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/easyrealestatehelp.info\/agent\/housing-inventory-shortages-persist-despite-increase-in-new-listings-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing inventory shortages persist despite increase in new listings"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION*<\/span><\/p>\n

\"northwest-Multiple-Listing-Service\"<\/a><\/p>\n

KIRKLAND, Washington (June 6, 2016) \u2013 Just as expected, the month of May had an uptick in new
\nlistings (12,272), but just as many buyers (12,275) made offers on homes during the month to keep inventory depleted, according to the latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cInventory is being squeezed from all directions,\u201d reported Frank Wilson, branch managing broker at John L. Scott in Poulsbo. He said the pool of house-hunters includes young first-time buyers, renters whose rents are escalating, buyers who are returning to the market after recovering from a foreclosure or short sale, investors, and baby boomers who are purchasing for their retirement needs. Additionally, in Kitsap County where his office is located, there are military families who are transferring to a base there and want to buy.<\/p>\n

By month end, member brokers reported 15,198 active listings in the Northwest MLS database. That\u2019s down more than 22 percent from a year ago when buyers could choose from an inventory of 19,515 listings across the 23 counties served by the listing service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe May housing market was not just hot, it was frenzy hot,\u201d commented J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. \u201cBrokers are working like bees in a hive as the housing market creates a buzz of sales activity in the Seattle-Central Puget Sound area.\u201d By his analysis, 80 percent of the homes coming on the market in King and Snohomish counties are selling within the first 30 days. \u201cMany sell within the first week,\u201d Scott reported, adding, \u201cA healthy\/normal market would have 30 percent selling in the first 30 days.\u201d<\/p>\n

MLS figures show there is only 1.76 months of supply system-wide. In both King and Snohomish
\ncounties, there is barely more than one month of supply \u2013 well below the 4-to-6 months that many experts use as an indicator of a balanced market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith less than two months of inventory, every new listing seems to draw multiple offers,\u201d Wilson remarked. He also said homeowners who want to move up in this same market know they face a conundrum: \u201cIf we sell today, will we be able to buy tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n

Buyers are becoming more and more aggressive with offers and pricing, and that concerns some brokers, said Northwest MLS director George Moorhead. As the gap between pricing and value widens, some would-be buyers may overextend themselves. Also, appraisers are struggling with a lack of comparable sales versus multiple offers that escalate well beyond the listing price, said Moorhead, the designated broker at Bentley Properties. Since lenders base loans on appraised values, buyers will likely need to make up the shortfall.<\/p>\n

Even though brokers say paltry inventory is limiting sales, the year-over-year volume of pending sales rose more than 7.4 percent last month. Members reported 12,275 mutually accepted offers, up from the year-ago total of 11,425. MLS data going back to 2004 shows that one-month total is the highest on record.<\/p>\n

NWMLS news release: May activity<\/span><\/p>\n

Prices also rose. The median price area-wide for last month\u2019s 8,630 closed sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) was $339,950. That\u2019s up more than 7.2 percent from twelve months ago when purchasers paid $317,000 for the median-priced home. Ten counties reported double-digit price hikes.<\/p>\n

In King County, the median price jumped more than 11.7 percent, from $434,000 to $485,000. Prices on single family homes surged nearly 16.5 percent, rising from $480,942 to $560,000. Condo prices were up 9 percent, but finding one proved challenging as inventory dropped 29 percent in King County.<\/p>\n

Former MLS board member Ken Anderson, the president\/owner of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic
\nRealty in Olympia, said last month set records for both pending and closed sales. \u201cLow inventory coupled with the huge number of buyers has our market moving at a record pace,\u201d according to his calculations. \u201cWell-priced homes are selling in an average of just 12 days \u2013 a full month faster than the peak of the market in 2006,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n

Brokers offer various suggestions to prospective buyers as they vie for scarce inventory:<\/p>\n