The number of homes for sale was down 5.7% across Seattle in March, so we wondered which neighborhood still had the most yard signs. Come claim your prize, West Seattle!
While West Seattle’s inventory took a big hit (down 10.6% from February and 47.7% from last March) along with the rest, its 278 homes for sale beat out Rainier Valley (169), downtown Seattle (164) and Queen Anne (126) to keep the crown. Several popular areas within the neighborhood even had more homes for sale than in February: Alki was up 11.1% and North Delridge was up 57.1%. Still, with more than a third of the homes for sale in West Seattle, Delridge’s fate became the fate of West Seattle, and inventory in Delridge fell 8.3% from February.
Of the different types of homes, single-family home inventory fared the best in West Seattle, down only 8.7% month over month (44% year over year), while condos and townhomes were down 16% and 10% month over month respectively.
What about prices?
The median sale price for a single family home in West Seattle fell 18.5% from February to $299,000. That drop put it back below the median sale price for King County ($333,000), after a price spike drove it above King County median sale price in February. The median sale price in Seattle was $422,500.
What does this mean for home buyers?
With the low inventory, buyers are putting up a fight for any move-in-ready home that gets put on the market. Redfin agent Dan Mullins took his clients to see a home in the Belvidere area of West Seattle at mid-day on the day the home was listed. They found that the home had sold for all cash, above asking price in the first 60 minutes on the market. Things are moving fast, so Dan recommends buyers in West Seattle move quickly and put their best offer in first, since they likely won’t get another shot.