Now that the last month of 2009 is behind us, let’s have a look at January’s stats preview. Most of the charts below are based on broad county-wide data that is available through a simple search of King County Records. If you have additional stats you’d like to see in the “preview,” drop a line in the comments and I’ll see what I can do.
Here’s your preview of January’s foreclosure and home sale stats:
First up, total home sales as measured by the number of “Warranty Deeds” filed with the county:
This year’s drop in warranty deeds from December to January was nearly the same as last year’s: -37%. If single-family home sales follow a similar pattern (dropping roughly the same as a year ago), that would put January’s closed SFH at around 1,060, up 58% YOY. Since last January and February saw the lowest 1-month volume of sales since 2000 (as far back as our data goes), a 60% YOY gain certainly isn’t out of the question.
Next, here’s Notices of Trustee Sale, which are an indication of the number of homes currently in the foreclosure process:
January saw the first year-over-year drop in Notices of Trustee Sale in King County in nearly three years. That’s certainly notable. Unfortunately, foreclosures are still very elevated.
Here’s another measure of foreclosures, looking at Trustee Deeds, which is the type of document filed with the county when the bank actually repossesses a house through the trustee auction process. Note that there are other ways for the bank to repossess a house that result in different documents being filed, such as when a borrower “turns in the keys” and files a “Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure.”
Actual completed foreclosures were up from last year, though the 36.5% year-over-year increase was smaller than any month in 2009.
Lastly, here’s an approximate guess at where the month-end inventory was, based on our sidebar inventory tracker (powered by Estately):
Down 15% from last year, but still 26% above the 2000-2007 average for January. Is the pent-up supply contining to grow, or are inventory levels still elevated, keeping down prices?
Stay tuned later this month a for more detailed look at each of these metrics as the “official” data is released from various sources.