Southeast King County Home Sales Drop as Prices Continue to Rise in June

Despite a dip in number of new listings and homes sold in June, the housing market continues to stay "extremely competitive", Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) brokers say.

In Southeast King County, sales dropped by 6 percent in June, according to a monthly report from the NWMLS.

Last month, NWMLS realtors closed sales on 568 Southeast homes, compared with 605 in May 2013 and 471 in June 2012. The year-to-year increase was 20.6 percent.

Meanwhile, prices of homes continue to climb as last month's median sale price in Southeast King County came in at $280,000, compared to $265,000 in May and $239,333 a year ago. That equals a nearly 17 percent year-over-year increase.

OB Jacobi, a member of the board of directors for Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which includes local real estate agents and brokers, said the current market conditions  ̶  including rising mortgage rates, tight inventory and declining unemployment  ̶  are driving even more buyers into what is already an "extremely competitive housing market".

As a result of improved confidence in the U.S. economy, the interest rates for 2013 reached a new high in mid-June, Jacobi added.

At the same time, a decrease in June closings may be credited to the fact that the number of new listings saw a drop for the first time this year in Southeast King County. In June, only 733 new homes were added to the listings while there were 802 in May 2013.

"The recent rise in interest rates has definitely brought more buyers into the market, but the inventory remains so low we have not seen a significant increase in sales," MLS director Diedre Haines said. 

Visit the NWMLS website to read the full press release.

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How would you evaluate the local real estate market? Are any of the new statistics cause for concern? Tell us in the comments section.