Published September 2004

Home sales up 21 percent

SCBJ Staff

Snohomish County home sales continued to sizzle in July, but a drop in pending sales could signal a cool down.

Completed sales in July rose to 1,592, a nearly 21 percent increase from the same month in 2003, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported.

While sales continued hot, pending sales — deals that had yet to close — actually dropped by 16 percent from a year ago, to 1,560. That’s an indicator that August sales could likely be much slower than July’s.

Home prices, however, continued to rise in July. The combined median price of homes and condominiums in the county was $244,425, up 6.8 percent from July 2003.

The median for single-family houses was $256,385. For condos, it was $173,970. By comparison, single-family homes in King County had a median price of $329,950, while condos had a $203,000 median price.

Median prices mean half the homes sold for less and half sold for more.

Just as in June, the number of homes put on the market in July dropped significantly. There were only 4,152 homes listed in July, a 13.6 percent drop from the July 2003 figures.

The shorter supply of homes continued to make home sales a competitive market in July. Homes continued to sell quickly, spending an average of 51 days on the market, or nearly a week less than a year ago.

The fastest-selling homes were those closest to King County. In the Maltby area of southeast Snohomish County, homes sold in an average of 38 days. Sales took the longest, 57 days, in the Stanwood and Arlington areas.

Maltby was also the area with the highest prices. The median there was $296,700, in part because a larger proportion of homes sold there were new.

The lowest median price, $214,925, was in the Stanwood and Arlington areas.

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