Published October 2003

Home sales up 24%,
prices up 6% from year ago

By Mike Benbow
Herald Business Editor

Housing statistics released in September show that sales are remarkably strong despite unemployment worries in Snohomish County and the increase in interest rates.

Some 1,200 homes changed hands in August, an increase of nearly 24 percent in comparison to August 2002, itself a good month.

That follows a blockbuster July.

In addition to a spike in sales, prices are also climbing steadily. The combined median price for condominiums and single-family homes in the county was $230,000 in August, a record price and a 6 percent increase over the $217,000 median of a year ago.

For single-family homes alone, the median is $240,000. For just condos, it’s $170,000.

Breaking down those numbers shows quite a price difference around the county.

In the Maltby area near the King County line, the median price for a home is just $50 shy of $285,500. Of course, a lot of the homes there are new, so they command higher prices.

In the Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace areas, the median price is $247,000. In Everett, Mukilteo and Mill Creek, it’s $238,000.

The least expensive homes are in the Stanwood and Arlington areas, where the median price is $186,000.

While it’s taking longer to sell a home this year than last — the average time on the market was 60 days this year compared with 51 in 2002 — the market is still humming along.

It’s amazing to see that so many homes are selling for such high prices in a county where unemployment stood at 8.3 percent in July.

Part of the answer is the large number of new loan programs that help people buy homes, especially first-timers. It’s possible to buy these days with only a tiny down payment, or without any down payment at all.

And mortgage rates, which leveled off recently after climbing to their highest levels in more than a year, mean that many people are paying mortgages either equal to or less than what they had been paying in rent.

And as long as interest rates don’t skyrocket suddenly, or prices don’t follow the same path, home sales should continue to do well, say members of the real estate industry.

Demand is there, they say, noting that as long as King County home prices stay significantly higher than those here, Snohomish County will be attractive to people looking for a relative bargain who don’t mind commuting to work.

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