Real Estate Re-Runs (June Insider Report)

So far this summer the real estate market in Seattle is about as exciting as a Matlock Marathon at the High School Prom.

Very few quality, well-priced new listings are coming on the market, and when one finally does, it’s the same story every time as the few buyers that are out there all descend at once and end up bidding against each other.

In lieu of our usual tables full of data on listings, sales, and price, we decided to mix things up a bit this month with a sneak peek at the Redfin Heat Index (Beta)*.

For starters, we developed the table at right, which includes our heat ranking for every market where Redfin has real-time sales data.

That’s interesting (although more so for Washington DC and Long Island than for Seattle), but knowing that the entire Seattle area (King County) is lukewarm probably isn’t a surprise to anyone, and isn’t particularly insightful for those of us that are interested in what’s going on in our own specific neighborhood.

Fortunately, we didn’t stop there. We crunched the numbers for the entire Seattle area and produced an interactive Redfin Heat Index map broken down by zip code:

Prices are still falling across most of the Seattle area, and although buyers are scarce, listings are even more rare, which is why you’re seeing some warmth in the map above.

“We’ve felt the effects of low inventory since last year. Everyone is waiting for the next great property to come up for sale, no matter the neighborhood,” explained Redfin Northeast Seattle and Mercer Island Agent Febe Cude. “Buyers are starting to get used to the multiple offer playing field. They understand that when a reasonably priced, turn-key home that fits their needs hits the market, they need to bring their A game.”

We ran the Redfin Heat Index at the neighborhood level and sure enough, Northeast Seattle—Febe’s area of expertise—topped the list of King County’s Top Five Hottest Neighborhoods in June:

King County’s 5 Hottest Neighborhoods in June

On the other end of the spectrum, here are King County’s Top Five Coldest Neighborhoods in June:

King County’s 5 Coldest Neighborhoods in June

Of course, in a market like this, comparing relative heats is almost like watching a race between a sloth and a snail, but I digress…

“New listings are slow to hit the market, and buyers are getting frustrated with the inventory,” said Redfin Redmond/Bothell Agent Kurt Pepin. “Buyers are anxious to buy, but are also being very smart about their purchases. The pure emotional buy is gone, while crunching every number possible has become the new norm.”

Speaking of crunching numbers, if you miss the tables of data, don’t fret! You can still download our comprehensive spreadsheet and dig into the data for yourself! Inside you’ll find county, city, and neighborhood information galore. You can also liven up the place by posting a comment below.

• MOS = Months of Supply: End of Month Inventory / Closed Sales in the Month
• $YOY = Year-over-year change in the median price per square foot.
• Heat Index = ((MOS – 6.0) * -7) + (($YOY – 5%) * 2) + 75