NWMLS reported strong gains in new listings in April (up 13.6 percent from March) but as we've been seeing for a while now inventory remained well below the supply needed to consider this a balanced housing market.
Area-wide, members added 11,939 new listings to the MLS database during April, a modest improvement from a year ago when they logged in 11,495 homes and condos. With last month’s additions, total inventory at the end of April included 14,235 active listings, a sharp drop (down 21.5 percent) from twelve months ago when the selection included 18,132 residences.
Locally in Seattle, the median price for a single-family home was up 15.3 percent from last April at $637,250. If you think that's bad, check out the median home price over in Bellevue: $1.8 million. Those looking to find more affordability would do well to look to Snohomish County ($375,000), Pierce County ($269,925) or Kitsap County ($269,950).
Meanwhile another option for home-buyers might be to trade the idea of a home for a condo. Still, they better get on that soon because condo prices are on the rise as well. The King County median condo price is up to $323,500 in April, 18.9 percent higher than a year ago. That's nothing compared to the YOY difference in Kitsap County, where median condo price has skyrocketed from $179,000 to $289,599 (61.7 percent).
· Home prices charge ahead, driving some buyers farther afield [ST]
· New home listings up, but not enough to cool down region's blistering market [PSBJ]