Washington State is fairing better than 41 other states in the current real estate market. According to CNN Money's article, approximately 7.6% of homeowners in Washington State currently owe more than their home is worth.
This year has certainly seen its ups and downs, and has very much been a year of transition. November's housing activity in Western Washington reflects "Microclimates" in which the trends vary greatly from one specific market area to the next. The December market update from our Northwest Multiple Listing Service illustrates some of these trends:
Inventory overall dropped slightly in November (down 1.8 percent) compared with a year ago, with 9 of the 19 counties in the NWMLS area reporting a smaller selection of listings.
Pending sales of single family homes and condominiums declined in all but one county. Jefferson County bucked the trend with a 53 percent jump in the number of offers made and accepted but not yet closed. Within King County, where the multiple listing service tracks 29 map areas, four of those areas reported double-digit gains in pending sales of single family homes. (The "hot spots" were Jovita/West Hill/Auburn; Skyway; Central Seattle/Beacon Hill and Bellevue-West of I-405.)
Prices overall for last month's closed sales lagged figures from a year ago (down about 9.5 percent), but six counties reported gains. For the West region of the U.S., prices of single family homes plunged 26.7 percent and condo prices dropped 24.5 percent from a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS.
