Thank you to Tony Gilbert for this guest post. He is a Snoqualmie Ridge resident and a licensed Real Estate Broker with Windermere Real Estate, serving the communities of Snoqualmie, Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend & Fall City. He regularly publishes information regarding the local real estate market at www.realfx.com.
The real estate market in the Snoqualmie area is doing well, especially considering what we’ve been through over the past 4 years. Distressed home sales are down sharply, more buyers are eager and qualified, existing home sales are brisk, and yes… home values have increased! While the rather frenetic “Seller’s Market” which took off this past April has settled down a bit in our area, most experts – myself included – expect the market to remain quite active for the foreseeable future, barring any global financial crisis, of course.
Foreclosed Homes and Short Sales Down by 67%
Snoqualmie never resembled the virtually abandoned neighborhoods seen in other parts of the country, but we’ve certainly had our share of real estate heartache. It appears however, that those days have passed. As shown in the chart below, compared to July of 2011, the number of distressed single-family homes for sale has dropped by 67%, and new distressed listings are down by 33% – though it is “interesting” that a few suddenly hit the market in July after months of steady decline. Regardless, new distressed listings are being absorbed at a healthy pace compared to last year – and we haven’t consistently seen more than two months worth of distressed home inventory since last fall.
To any of my neighbors who may be not be “out of the woods” as of yet… it’s imperative to keep abreast of the local market conditions. In an improving market with rising prices, it’s entirely possible your situation may not be as “dire” as you might think. So before making any important decisions, please consult with multiple real estate professionals to review your specific situation.
Pre-Owned Home Sales Brisk With Rising Prices
Single family home sales overall in Snoqualmie continue to improve. Compared to July of 2011, the number of homes for sale has been cut in half. With fewer homes for buyers to choose from, prices are steadily rising.
Depending on the price range and location, the average price of homes sold in Snoqualmie this summer has increased between 9%-16% or more over last summer. In fact, when looking at the area market as a whole, the average selling price has jumped a whopping 31%. But don’t get too excited, as that figure is due primarily to the volume of lower-valued distressed sales which took place last year, combined with a few luxury homes which have sold this summer. Removing these sales results a more conservative increase – but we’ll take whatever we can get!
In parts of Snoqualmie, existing homes are selling exceptionally well. For example, as of the date of this blog post, of the 37 pre-owned homes currently “pending” in Snoqualmie Ridge, 18 were on the market 30 days or less – and 10 of those were on the market 8 days or less. Out of 12 homes sold in July, 5 were for sale 9 days or less.
Bottom line… generally speaking of course, assuming the home has been properly prepared for the market, is in good condition, and it is priced in accordance with comparable market data and current trends, sellers of existing homes across the entire Snoqualmie area can expect a healthy amount of buyer traffic – this is especially true of homes priced near, or below $475K.
