A look at the fall real estate market

This fall has been a busy time in the real estate market in our community. From Sept. 1 through Nov. 25 , we have seen 38 closed residential sales in the greater Madison Park area; encompassing Madison Park, Broadmoor, Washington Park, Denny Blaine and Madrona. This is an increase of 26.7 percent over the same period in 2018, where 30 sales closed during the same period.

The median sold price in our area during this time was $1.53 million, up from roughly $1.32 million for the same period in 2018.

This big jump in median price was impacted by a couple of very large sales that occurred in 2019 versus only one sale over $3 million in this timeframe last year. In addition, September – Nov. 25 recorded 11 sales over $2 million in our community, while 2018 saw only seven sales over $2 million.

While this fall has proven to be a stronger market than in 2018, in terms of both number of sales and average sold price, the market time for homes has gone up. We saw average days on market for this time-period of 33 days in 2018. In 2019, average days on market has increased to 47; that’s up 42 percent. Homes selling at $2 million and more have been hit hardest with this market-time increase.

In September–November 2018 average days on market for homes $2 million and over were 36. Average market time in this price range more than doubled this fall at 78 days. So, while more homes are selling, it is taking much longer for them to sell.

There are currently 19 pending and pending inspection single-family home sales in our community, many of which will close before year end. Of these 19 pending sales, six are priced at over $2 million. In December 2018, there were 10 closed single-family home sales in our area. Therefore, depending on how many of the 19 pending sales close by year end, it appears that we will end December 2019 with higher sales volume than last December.

So, how does this translate to those of you thinking of selling your home? At this time of year, I am often asked, “Should I list my house now, or wait until the spring market.” I also am sometimes asked, “Should I take my home off the market for the holidays.” I believe that being on the market during the holidays is a good thing for several reasons. First, as I often tell sellers, while the quantity of showings may go down for the holidays, the quality goes up. In other words, buyers who take time out of their busy holiday schedules to tour homes are typically more serious buyers who want or need to buy soon.

Second, Seattle sees a lot of out of town visitors over the holidays, some of which are here to find a home. Maybe they are visiting while their children are on holiday and want to get them moved in time for the spring semester of school. Others are here visiting family for the holidays, planning to make a job change, or simply have the desire to move to a new city, and the holidays offer time to find that perfect home.

Finally, there is less competition as fewer new listings are coming on the market, but serious buyers are still out looking. I have sold a number of my listings during the holidays over the years for all of the reasons stated above, and I encourage sellers to offer their homes for sale in whatever timeframe makes the most sense to their desires, needs and lifestyle.

If I can help you with evaluating the value of your home, developing a marketing plan to sell, or assist you in finding your next dream home, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Lisa Turnure is a founding member and broker at Coldwell Banker Bain in Madison Park.