Reporting Roundup: Talking Points Edition

Time for the monthly reporting roundup, where I read all the local paper rehashes of the NWMLS press release so you don’t have to.

Here’s a link to this month’s NWMLS press release: Northwest MLS brokers say housing market in Washington State indicates recovery

Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported strong gains in home sales during February, with brokers pointing to several encouraging signs for a busy spring season. Improving consumer confidence and a looming deadline for homebuyer tax credits are helping to boost activity, according to NWMLS officials.

Okay, first talking point: stealing demand from the future = super awesome. Got it.

Jacobi reported “significant traffic” at open houses, which he attributes to the first-time homebuyer tax credit and rising consumer confidence.

Pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) jumped nearly 45 percent last month compared to a year ago, marking the 11th straight month of month-over-month increases. Twelve of the 21 counties in the MLS market area reported double-digit gains in pending sales, led by San Juan County (up 85.7 percent), Snohomish County (up nearly 71 percent) and King County (up nearly 63 percent).

Second point: unmeasurable factors like “open house traffic” and data that has been proven to be worthless are the preferred tools to measure the market.

“We can see and hear the rumblings of pent-up demand from buyers,” Beeson commented, adding he expects spring and summer sales to outpace last year because there are such good price values in the market. He said they are reminding buyers of the possibility of rising mortgage interest rates due to the Federal Reserve’s plan to stop buying mortgages by the end of March.

Point three: Buy now or be priced out forever. You know it’s true because Dick Beeson said so, and he’s got the pent-up demand to prove it.

Now that you’ve heard about how great the market is directly from the NWMLS, let’s see how the local reporters decided to approach the subject.

Eric Pryne, Seattle Times: Home prices inch up on Eastside, in Seattle year-over-year

Sales volumes were up strongly throughout the county, 51 percent overall from February 2009. It was the ninth straight month of year-over-year gains, fueled by low interest rates, federal tax credits and mild winter weather.

But brokers say prices in South King County are continuing to fall because houses repossessed by banks and short sales — those for less than the seller owes on the home — make up a bigger share of that market.

Those sellers are more likely to settle for less. “It’s putting a lot of downward [price] pressure on sellers who are not in trouble,” said Tony Hettler, broker-owner of the John L. Scott office in Des Moines.

In Seattle and on the Eastside, in contrast, brokers say move-up buyers are returning to the market.

In Seattle’s Capitol Hill and Madison Park areas, 39 houses sold in February with a median price of $596,000, according to the listing service. That’s up from just 17 houses that sold in February 2009, with a median price of $409,000.

Same trend that Eric noticed last month. Now that the spectre of being priced out forever has been eliminated from the homebuyer psyche, people are starting to be more picky about where they buy.

Gerry Spratt, Seattle P-I: Seattle home prices up over last year, report says

Prices for Seattle single-family homes continue to stabilize and sales activity is picking up, according to a report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Seattle home prices were up 1.40 percent in February over the same period a year ago – the second straight year-over-year increase – but down 3.86 percent from January. The median price for a single-family home in Seattle was $399,000 in February, compared with $415,000 in January. In February 2009, the median home price was $393,500.

Sadly, the P-I’s article is mostly a straight-up rehash of the press release.

Mike Benbow, Everett Herald: Snohomish County home sales strong, prices drop

Home sales soared in the Puget Sound area last month despite steep drops this winter in most other areas of the country, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Thursday.

In Snohomish County, home sales rose 53.5 percent in February and pending sales were up 71 percent.

The strong sales came as home prices in the county continued to drop. The combined median price for single-family homes and condominiums last month was $269,000, a drop of $32,750, or 10.85 percent from a year ago.

Crazy. So when prices are more reasonable, there are… more buyers?!? Who could have guessed?

Kelly Kearsley, Tacoma News Tribune: February hot for Pierce County home sales

Pending home sales spiked by 30 percent in Pierce County last month as homebuyers took advantage of low interest rates, tax credits and good deals to be had on area homes and condominiums.

The number of pending sales in the county grew to 1,132 in February from 866 the same month the previous year, according to a report released Thursday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The increase in closed sales was a bit more modest at 12 percent.

“A worthless, discredited measure of home sales that nobody should pay attention to was up by an impressive amount in February. The useful measure of actual sales was up too, but since the number isn’t as big we’re going to push it off to the third paragraph and downplay it.”

Rolf Boone, The Olympian: February home sales heat up

The increase in the number of monthly and overall new listings was attributed to home sellers finally realizing that the South Sound housing market is unlikely to change in the next year to 18 months, said Dennis Adams, broker and owner of Virgil Adams Real Estate in Olympia. For home sellers, it might mean selling their houses at a reduced price, but it also means the chance of buying a house at a reduced price, he said.

“They have resolved themselves to the fact that the market is slow, but they are still going about their normal lives,” Adams said.

Wow, that’s a refreshing change. A real estate salesperson who isn’t insistent on calling the bottom with every little sign of possible growth.

Here’s a bonus story from Publicola’s new “real estate nerd.”

Jane Hodges, Publicola: Seattle Home Prices Rising

Spring ushers in a period of optimism in the real estate industry. Generally, that’s when buyers and sellers get down to business after six months of market hibernation. It’s when agents bust out with that old cliche: There’s never been a better time to buy. It’s when sellers exhale, sensing that people are placing their faith in real estate.

Judging from February home sales data just out from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, Seattle’s real estate market is improving. Rising prices, an increase in pending sales, and shrinking inventory make up the troika that economists watch for when they’re looking for signs of improvement.

Hmm, not the strongest start for Ms. Hodges at her new home. Quoting the “never been a better time to buy” without any real analysis of whether that’s the case and going to pending sales while totally ignoring closed sales. We’ll see if I can talk some sense into her in our meeting next week.

(Eric Pryne, Seattle Times, 03.04.2010)
(Gerry Spratt, Seattle P-I, 03.04.2010)
(Mike Benbow, Everett Herald, 03.05.2010)
(Kelly Kearsley, Tacoma News Tribune, 03.05.2010)
(Rolf Boone, The Olympian, 03.05.2010)
(Jane Hodges, Publicola, 03.04.2010)

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