January Statistics: Yep, It’s a Buyer’s Market

Stats for January are up on the NWMLS site.

Overall, Seattle median prices were up YOY for the first time in a couple of months. Prices rose 6.18% from January of 2007. Inventory was just slightly less flooded, at 64.24% higher than last year.

Let’s look at the actual numbers. Seattle’s median home price was $403,475, which is lower than December’s median price of $416,950, and nearly 20% lower than the Seattle market’s peak in August of this year. And inventory is up, again, from 2,963 in December of 2007 to 3426 in January, a change of nearly 16%.

Is this just a typical post-holiday real estate revival? In 2006-7, the change in inventory from December to January was 1,738 to 2,036, or just over 17%. But we’re still talking about a market that is splitting its seams, so the scale of the comparison is critical.

North Seattle:

• Area 705 (NW Seattle) was down YOY by 2.14%. Area 71o (NE Seattle), on the other hand, was up 19.68% YOY, but still far from the summer of 2007, which saw median prices $70,000 higher in the area.
• Pending sales in January were down in both areas YOY, by 9.68% in Area 705, and by 28.32% in area 710.

South Seattle:

• Area 385 (SODO and Beacon Hill) dropped 5.6 % YOY to $340,000. Area 380 (Southeast Seattle) gained about $10,000, for a 2.71% increase YOY.
• Pending sales were down a lot YOY in Area 380, 42.22%. And in 385 they were up by 11.76%.

I’m seeing a pattern here. Drop your price and you’re more likely to sell. It’s not exactly genius, but it seems to hold true on a macro as well as an individual level. The neighborhoods whose home prices dropped more sharply are having better sales percentages… for now.

February’s a short month. What do you predict will happen this month?