Washington Mortgages Used on Condos, Not Single-Family Homes
Sales of single-family homes in Snohomish County continued to sag a little in April, but the condominium market was stronger last month than ever.
For single-family Washington homes alone, sales dropped nearly 18 percent in comparison to April 2006, according to statistics released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Sales in the pipeline that didn’t close last month dropped by a similar amount, 16.5 percent.
For Washington mortgage seekers, the good news is that listings increased by more than 51 percent, giving them many more choices than a year ago, when listings were falling.
For sellers, the good news is that despite a slowdown in sales, prices continued to rise. The median price for single-family homes hit $375,000 in April, meaning half the homes sold for less and half sold for more.
The new median for single-family homes is an increase of 13.67 percent from a year ago, the highest in what the service describes as the Puget Sound area. Prices in King County rose by 10.85 percent, prices in Kitsap County rose by 6.91 percent and prices in Pierce County rose by 4.43 percent.
While the statistics were mixed in the single-family home market, the numbers for condos did nothing but rise. The number of condos on the market soared by 89 percent in comparison to a year ago, with 712 units available.
Pending sales rose 11.65 percent from last year and closed sales rose 6.5 percent. Despite the dramatic rise in listings, prices also rose dramatically. The median price for just condos in April was $242,500, a 21.3 percent climb from last year.
Real estate professionals say condo sales are strong because of the difficulty in finding low to moderately priced single-family homes throughout the area for those in search of mortgage loans.
The strong job market in Snohomish and King counties has attracted many new people, and many of those newcomers are looking for homes in the Snohomish County housigng market due to the lower prices.
The median price for condos in King County is $53,000 more than in Snohomish County, weighing in at $295,000. The gap for single-family homes is even bigger. King County’s median price of $465,000 in April was $90,000 more than in Snohomish County.
While Snohomish County houses are less expensive than in King County, they’re still out of reach for many people in the market, especially with the tightening of home purchase loan qualifications that has followed the recent increase in home foreclosures.
That has attracted more people to condos and their much lower price range.