Uncategorized September 5, 2016

Rayme’s Market Watch

If you are in the market to buy Tam O’ Shanter real estate, you most likely are keeping an eye on the news. After all, there is a lot of talk about our local market and whether or not we are in a bubble. As a Tam O’ Shanter Realtor, I get asked a lot of questions about what is really going on and I can say that currently we are still in a seller’s market and we are not in a housing bubble.

According to Windermere statistic, the Eastside is currently the highest priced area of King county due to the high concentration of luxury homes for sale. The median home price as of July was $750,400 which was up 10% compared to last year. It is predicted that buyers looking to get into this market might start seeing home prices ease up a bit in the near future which is great news if you are looking to move into Tam O’ Shanter real estate.

King county is just now seeing a slight drop in the median home price after 5 straight months of record setting home prices. As of June, the median was $570,500 but July it was $555,000. While the prices have dropped a little, they are still up by 14% compared to last year.

There has been a lot of discussion on whether or not we are in the same housing bubble we saw ourselves in back in 2006. While it is understandable that people would be wary of this scenario, the numbers are suggesting we are not in a housing bubble. In fact, home sales are strong and steady and refinancing is up. So far 2016 had 5.5 million home sales, which is an increase of 200,000. Millenials are driving the next generation of housing and with 1.2 million households forming, there is a demand for more homes. There is an affordability issue due to the demand for entry level houses and them not being available for the buyers that need them which has been boosting the need for new construction. With such a strong demand and stricter guidelines to securing a loan, a housing bubble isn’t something we should be worried about at the moment.

All in all, while home prices are said to be leveling out a bit, they are still on the rise compared to last year. There is also said to be an increase in inventory which would provide some relief for buyers which means less bidding wars and more buyers being able to get into their desired homes for sale in Tam 0’ Shanter. Whether or not this is a temporary slow down or we are moving to a balanced market will only be able to be determined by time.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Tam O’ Shanter, give me a call at 425-829-8778.