Seattle Bubble

Prices may be holding up somewhat in the neighborhoods close to downtown Seattle, but the Eastside apparently is not so lucky. With nearly eight “months of supply” the downward pressure is mounting on home prices east of the lake.

I’d like to highlight an excellent thread over in the forums, where prolific Seattle Bubble poster “EastSider” has been diligently digging through the listings to dig up dozens and dozens of flops on the Eastside.

Here are a couple of gems from the thread:

Bothell – 16624 38th Ave SE:
Sold June 2006 for $521,990
Currently Asking $449,950
On the market 100+ days

Kenmore – 19914 83rd Pl NE:
Sold December 2005 for $460,639
Currently Asking $410,000
On the market 350+ days(!!!)

Snoqualmie – 8075 Silva Ave SE:
Sold May 2006 for $369,500
Currently Asking $299,950
On the market 200 days

Bellevue – 16617 SE 31st St:
Sold October 2005 for $510,000
Currently Asking $519,900 (originally listed in March at $575,000)
On the market 150+ days

Bellevue – 1015 110th Ave SE:
Sold December 2006 for $740,000
Currently Asking $629,950
On the market 19 days

What kind of flops have you been seeing out there? Are there any neighborhoods where a return to 2005 prices is enough to convince you to jump in? Be sure to check out the original forum thread for many more examples from all over the Eastside.

I want to take a moment to highlight a thread in the forums that was started yesterday. Deejayoh’s topic, “What’s the opposite of an audacious flip?” highlights a handful of interesting examples of homes on the market in Seattle right now that have asking prices tens of thousands of dollars less than what they sold for in 2006 or 2007.

• 4125 SW 107 S Seattle, WA 98146 – Asking: $674,950 – Sold 01/2007: $750,000
• 10016 California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98146 – Asking: $559,000 – Sold 07/2006: $559,000
• 9833 45th Ave SW Seattle, WA 98136 – Asking: $779,000 – Sold 05/2006: $850,000
• 9412 35th Ave SW Seattle, WA 98136 – Asking: $259,000 – Sold 05/2007: $335,000
  (Update: actually ^this one^ appears to simply be a subdivide by a developer)
• 4113 44th Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116 – Asking: $998,500 – Sold 06/2007: $1,175,000

Deejayoh commented:

These are all in West Seattle – and I found them by clicking only about 20 listings on Redfin.

Here are a couple I found in a cursory search of the Woodinville area:

• 16632 126th Ave NE Woodinville, WA 98072 – Asking: $449,950 – Sold 12/2006: $460,000
• 20318 132nd Ave NE Woodinville, WA 98072 – Asking: $550,000 – Sold 05/2006: $564,000

So what’s the deal here? Was there fraud involved in the prior sales of these places? Is this a growing trend? Have you noticed similar situations in your neighborhood?

Head over to the forum thread, or share your similar anecdotes here.