Closed Sales Statistics for King County, March 2008

How bad are things in the real estate market these days? Have you been inundated with all sorts of news reports full of gloom and doom? Here is the reality of the housing situation for King County. We are not faring as well as last year at this time, but it is not the end of the world for all of us in this area! Of course parts of California, Florida and Las Vegas are definitely in a world of hurt, but here King County, we should be thankful. There were 2286 homes sold during March 2007 and March 2008 saw 1503 sales. That is a decrease of 34% in volume. People are definately wary of buying or selling with all that has been in the news! The average price for a home in King County (averaging all areas of our county) was $566,834 for March 2007, compared to $539,733 for March 2008, represening approximately a 5% decrease in price. Will prices go down more? Wouldn't we all like to know the answer to that one! I still see people buying and selling and of course, prices need to reflect the current trends, so overpricing is a problem for sure. Even so, during March of '07 the length of time a home was listed before selling was 60 days on average. In March of '08 the time increased to 78 days, which is a 24% increase.

The bottom line is this.....if you have been sitting on the fence regarding making a move, now isn't as bad a time as you may have been led to believe! Sure, the market isn't what it was a year ago, but getting home prices to slow down a bit isn't a bad thing. Do we really want prices to keep going up and up and up??? Plenty of people can't afford to live in our area as it is and I sure would like for our grandkids to be able to afford a house of their own when they reach that point in life! I bet you feel the same.

If you are thinking about making a move, give me a call. I will help you with pricing your home correctly for a timely sale and would also love to hunt down that new piece of real estate that you can call "home."

The next pool shark!

I guess it's time for another photo or two of my grandkids. Saben turned three in March and we gave him his very own pool table since he enjoys playing with ours. As you can see, he knows what to do with a pool cue!

And then there is 8 month old Annika, enjoying helping her mom in the garden. What a treat it is to watch your grandkids grow and change!

Sales Tax Increase

Did you know that effective yesterday (April 1st, no joke) the sales and use tax in King County has increased by one-tenth of one percent? Last April 1st (2007) we had a one-tenth of one percent increase as a result of voter approval to expand metro bus service, and this year the increase will be used for chemical dependency or mental health treatment services. It seems insignificant until you realize that now some areas , including Issaquah, are at 9%!