Real estate brokers representing the 21-county region of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service said Friday that the latest monthly housing market figures indicate “a sustainable recovery” is finally afoot.
“Buyers are screaming for more inventory and they’re being more aggressive with presenting offers on homes,” said an agency manager from Bothell.
“We are seeing a frenzied market in the Puget Sound region,” said the chairman and CEO of one major brokerage based in King County.
Still, the specific figures for March from Pierce and Thurston counties present a mixed result.
According to the MLS data:
• The number of listings for residential and condominium properties in March dropped 26.93 percent in Pierce County in 2012 compared with 2011. In Thurston County, the inventory dropped 19.47 percent.
• The number of pending sales of residential and condominium properties, however, improved. Pending sales rose 9.26 percent in Pierce County, and 15.22 percent in Thurston County, compared with March 2011 figures.
Pending sales in the region rose a healthy 20.55 percent.
In Pierce County, MLS reported 1,439 pending sales, and in Thurston County, 386.
• Closed sales – the number of transactions completed – fell 9.75 percent in Pierce County and rose 4.98 percent in Thurston County.
In Pierce County, there were 803 closed sales in March, and 219 in Thurston County.
Throughout the region, closed sales fell 7.38 percent.
• The median price of a residential home sold in Pierce County in March fell 8.24 percent, from $195,000 in March 2011 to $178,925 last month.
• The median price of a residential home in Thurston County rose 4.28 percent, from $204,950 to $213,725.
• Across the region, the median price fell 6.2 percent from $249,995 to $234,487.
• Pierce County marked 51 closed sales of condominiums in March, up from 40 the year before. In Thurston County, brokers reported seven condominium sales, down from eight.
• The median price of a condominium sold in March in Pierce County was $89,000, down 33.83 percent from $134,500 a year ago. In Thurston County, the median price rose 10.05 percent from $104,500 to $115,000.
• In the region in March, a total of 678 completed sales was up 14.72 percent over the year, and the median price fell 19.81 percent from $200,000 to $160,375.
C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535 c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com
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