Northwest 2012 Real Estate Market Review

Northwest MLS brokers report nearly $20 billion in sales for 2012 outgaining prior year by $3.2 billion

Kirkland, WA, January 17, 2013 – Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service tallied 64,624 closed sales of single family homes and condominiums during 2012, improving on 2011’s volume by 8,332 transaction for a gain of nearly 15 percent.

Last year’s completed sales included 55,699 single family homes and 8,925 condominiums. Together, these sales were valued at more than $19.9 billion, which compares to the previous year’s total of around $16.7 billion (up nearly 19.6 percent).

Median prices area-wide increased by $10,000 (about 4.3 percent), rising from $235,000 to $245,000, although not all areas reported gains. Mason, Snohomish and King counties reported the healthiest jumps.

• Closed sales: Northwest MLS broker-members reported 64,622 closed sales valued at nearly $20 billion.
• Median Price: $245,000 for single-family homes and condos that sold last year, up nearly 4.3 percent from 2011.
• MLS members added 91,359 new listings of SFH and condos to inventory, a drop of more than 10,000 units from 2011.
• Represented 241,781 home sellers, on average, each month.
• Reported 1,116 sales of single family homes and 138 sales of condominiums priced at $1 millionor more. 623 condos sold for $500,000 or more.
• The MLS area covering Bellevue/West of 405 (map area 520) had the highest number of million dollar-plus sales with 202, followed by Central Seattle (area 390) with 129. For high-end condos ($500,000-plus), Belltown/Downtown Seattle claimed the highest number of sales (170), followed by the area covering West Bellevue with 158.
• Highest prices: Among the 21 counties in the MLS service area, King County claimed the highest median price for single family homes that sold last year ($365,000).
• New construction: The median price for7,170 newly built single-family homes that sold in 2012 area wide was $299,950; for 930 condo sales it was $331,888.
• About half (48.8 percent) of single family homes that sold system-wide last year had 3 bedrooms.
• Condos: Brokers sold more than 8,900 condominiums during 2012; nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of condo sales system-wide were in King County; nearly 77 percent had two or fewer bedrooms.
• Prices, 3-bedrooom homes: The median price for a 3-bedroom home that sold in 2012 was$229,000; median prices on these homes ranged from a low $117,900 in Pacific County to $370,750 in San Juan County.
• Most expensive: The highest priced single family home that sold was on Mercer Island ($21,625,000); the highest priced condo was a downtown Seattle penthouse ($4.25 million).

Continue reading the full NWMLS press release for 2012 (pdf)