Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Kitsap Real Estate market update for September
For the first time in years, the median home price for closed sales in Kitsap County fell compared to the previous month. With the inventory of unsold homes approaching 6 months, we have definitely moved to a buyer’s market.
Residential Highlights...
Kitsap County’s residential inventory in September (1888 active listings) was up 4% from August. The September inventory was 58% higher than a year ago, same as last month. Even the exception in Kitsap County’s rising inventory, Bainbridge Island, has a rising inventory with a 42% increase from 2005 (it was up only 20% last month). The number of YTD pending sales in September was down 13% compared to a year ago - compared to down 12% last month. Note that Bainbridge Island pending sales YTD are down 20% from a year ago. The number of YTD closed sales is down by 11% compared to a year ago - up from 8% last month. Bainbridge Island closed sales YTD are down 22% from a year ago. Inventory is up substantially while actual sales are behind last year’s numbers. If you look just at last month’s closed sales, they are down 11% compared to a year ago, and on Bainbridge Island last month’s sales were down 27% - a big swing from being up 7.5% last month.
Prices are falling...
Median sales prices fell last month for the first time in a long time. The median sales price of $273,911 countywide was up 10% from a year ago, (12% last month), but the big news is that the median price has fallen from its peak of $274,000 last month. Since January the median sales price has risen 6.6%.
Seller Expectations...
Despite the drop in median price of closed sales, the median list price continued to rise ($349,500 compared to $349,000 last month). The median list price has risen 7.8% since January, so you can see that the sellers and agents have expected prices to rise faster than actual results (closed sales have risen 6.6%). The inventory turnover of homes on the market, as calculated by total number of homes on the market divided by number sold last month, is 5.5 months (up from 4.5 last month). A year ago this number was 2.5 months. Based on this a seller’s home has a 18% chance of selling in any given month now versus a 40% chance a year ago. Competitive pricing is much more of a factor now than last year.
Statistics not compiled or published by NWMLS
