It’s time once again for the monthly reporting roundup, where you can read my wry commentary about the news instead of subjecting yourself to boring rehashes of the NWMLS press release (or in addition to, if that’s what floats your boat).
To kick things off, here’s an excerpt from the NWMLS press release:
With holidays approaching, real estate brokers usually expect a slowdown as buyers and sellers shift their attention elsewhere. “This year is different,” say some industry leaders.
“This time is different!”
It always is, isn’t it?
Read on for my take on this month’s local news reports.
Seattle Times
Sanjay Bhatt: Short supply pushes up region’s home prices
Given such tight supply, homes that do come on the market are gone quickly. Across King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties, last month’s volume of pending sales — purchase contracts that haven’t yet closed — made it the second best October on record, said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of the John L. Scott brokerage.
“The market will remain hot through the winter,” he said.
Buyers may pine for more choices, but construction of new single-family homes isn’t capable of meeting the enormous appetite.
And of course there is no way demand would ever drop, right? It’s impossible to conceive of any way that could happen, so obviously Seattle’s housing market will remain hot forever!
Puget Sound Business Journal
Marc Stiles: Struggling to find a house? Try the ‘Seahawks Strategy’
A new report shows that the acute shortage of homes for sale in the Puget Sound area continues, spurring more bidding wars.
One real estate company is offering a game plan to beat out the competition: go shopping during a Seahawks game. It worked for one John L. Scott Real Estate client.
The woman had thought she found the perfect home only to lose out in a multiple-offer situation. So she and her broker decided to look at a few homes on a Seahawk Sunday. At 10 a.m. she walked into a house she loved. By noon she made an offer, and it was accepted 24 hours later.
Yes I am certain that the Seahawks game had everything to do with her successful offer. And also the phase of the moon and Venus in retrograde.
My Northwest
Kipp Robertson: Buy a home on Seahawks game day if you want to win the bid
The housing market in Seattle and outlying areas has become so competitive that people are willing to skip a Seahawks game to look for a home.
After losing in a bidding war, a client of John L. Scott and her broker went to go shopping for a new home on a Seahawk Sunday, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. The client was able to make an offer, which was accepted 24 hours later.
“The key is to go shopping during a Sehawks game,” KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney said. “You tend to have fewer bidders.”
It is embarrassing that this nonsense was published in even one outlet, but two? Yikes.
Tacoma News Tribune / The Olympian
Rolf Boone: South Sound home sales still strong in October
Although Pierce County didn’t experience a double-digit increase in sales, the picture was brighter for median price, which rose 10.5 percent in the past year. In Thurston County, the median price rose 8.3 percent over the same period, the data show.
Bottom line: It remains a seller’s market.
It’s nice that we can close this up today with a nice clean factual report devoid of superstitious nonsense and ridiculous predictions. Thank you, Mr. Boone.
(Sanjay Bhatt, Seattle Times, 2015-11-05)
(Marc Stiles, Puget Sound Business Journal, 2015-11-05)
(Kipp Robertson, My Northwest, 2015-11-07)
(Rolf Boone, Tacoma News Tribune, 2015-11-05)