2018 In Review - Puget Sound Area Real Estate

Data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reflect a continuing strong market in our area.  Especially in the Western Washington counties of King, Snohomish, Skagit, Kitsap, Whatcom and Pierce.

The area-wide median price for last year's sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) was $402,000, a gain of more than 8.6 percent from the year-ago figure of $370,000.  A comparison by county shows median sales prices ranged from $154,000 in Ferry County to $620,000 in King County.

Year-over-year prices for single family homes (excluding condominiums) increased about 7.9 percent system-wide, rising from $380,000 in 2017 to last year's median price of $410,000. Condo prices jumped 11.4 percent from the 2017 figure of $316,000 to last year's median selling price of $352,000.

Inventory shortages persisted throughout 2018, even though brokers added more new listings (117,177 versus 114,297) last year compared to 2017. Member-brokers reported 112,267 pending sales (mutually accepted offers) during 2018, a year-over-year drop of nearly 7 percent compared to 2017.

Among other highlights in its annual compilation of statistics, Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported:

• About 45 percent of last year's home sales had three bedrooms; of the condo component nearly 72 percent had two or fewer bedrooms.
• The median price for a 3-bedroom home ranged from $163,500 in Ferry County to $610,000 in King County. 
• Of the condo sales, 55 percent were located in King County. 
• For the new construction component involving Northwest MLS brokers, newly built condos continued to fetch higher prices than single family homes, just like 2016 and 2017. Last year's sales included 10,076 newly built single family homes that sold for a median price of $544,950 and 974 condos that sold for a median price of $634,950. New homes in King County commanded the highest prices: $824,925 for single family homes and $835,000 for condos (although San Juan County reported a single sale of a newly built condo, with a price of $1.6 million). 
• Prices vary widely among school districts. Single family homes that sold in the Mercer Island district had a median price of $1.7 million, the highest among all districts.