So what were the chances of selling a home on the Eastside in March 2007?

Sellers had a 46% chance of getting a home sold in March.

The real estate market is only getting better and better this year! The overall Eastside market is following our typical spring trend with a high proportion of the listings receiving offers and selling. We are still behind last March’s booming market when 54% of the homes for sale received offers. Still, this year with each passing month, the market is improving. Unlike February when only 23 more properties were on the market, there was a spike in listings in March. Two hundred thirty-six more properties were offered for sale last month, an increase of 9% in inventory.

Bottom line for March: there were 9% more properties to choose from than in February and there was an increase of 4% in the amount of homes receiving offers.

So which Eastside markets sizzled in March?

The plateau area with Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City wins again as the area with the most homes for sale and the most sales during the month. There were 559 single family homes on the market, a whopping 35% increase from March of 2006. Sales for the month totaled 226, the most on the Eastside. However, the plateau was sizzling even more last year at this time. Inventory has increased dramatically, but the number of sales has dropped from last year by 22%, from 290 to 226 sales. This year it’s a bit harder to sell a home on the plateau. This year there was a 40% a home would sell and last year there was a 70% chance!

The West Redmond/East Bellevue area is hopping, but in a different way. This area wins for the greatest percentage of homes selling this month. Fifty-eight percent of the homes for sale received offers. This area has had some of the lowest amount of homes available for sale anywhere. No wonder there’s been a lot of multiple offers. There were 119 homes for sale, up from 96 in February of 2006 and up from the 98 homes available in this February. Homes receiving offers this month jumped up from 57 homes last month to 70 homes sold. Even though last year 80% of the homes sold during the month, still some pretty incredible numbers here!

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall saw inventory shoot up by 71%, an in increase higher than any other area. Sales, though, were down by almost 8%. The chances of selling a home dropped considerably from last year. Last year 65% of the homes sold, while this year only 35% of the homes sold.

Kirkland sales were a bit slower this year than last as 29% of the homes sold. Last year there were sales of 36% of the available homes. Inventory increased by 18% and sales declined by 8% this year.

South Bellevue sales numbers were similar to last year, dropping by 5 sales, but inventory increased by almost 20%. The chances of selling a home were 40%, similar to the chances on the plateau. Last year, 50% of the home owners received offers during the month.

Areas with more of a chance of selling this year than last year?

West Bellevue: Inventory was down by 24 homes or 16%, one of the few areas where less is on the market this year than last. Sales, however, increased by 13% from 38 to 43 homes. The chances of a home selling in March in West Bellevue were 35%, whereas last year the chances were only 26%.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation: There was a slight drop in inventory of 9 homes, a 4% decline, but sales increased by almost 13% to 96 homes from 85 last year. The chances of selling a home this year were 48% while last year it was 41%.

Our March market is strong, but a bit slower than the booming market we had last year.


News for condo sellers and buyers: Available condos increased by 25% from 427 in March of last year to 535 this year, yet only one more condo sold this year than last year! In March, there were about 20 more condos available than in February. I just posted a commentary on the Seattle/Eastside condo market. In this post, I mentioned some interesting trends to watch. Also, if you are buying a condo, you should pick up April’s edition of Seattle Metropolitan magazine. It has great information about condo complexes and the purchase process. I thought the article presented some great questions to ask when looking at a condo to purchase.

Don’t forget to look at the attached charts on my website for this past month and past year. (Click on statistical reports for 2007 and for March 2007). Look at statistics-year to date charts to find this information.


http://debrasinick.com/docs/2007_Year_to_Date.pdf

Debra’s monthly tip: Spend a little green to make a little green. Now is the time to take care of your yard. A nice yard is a great way to “frame” a home.