Seattle Real Estate Market Is Very HOT !!!!! (Rainier: for sale, foreclosures)

[Vinylly]

Inspite of what they say, our family has witnessed how hot home sales in Seattle really is.
Our daughter and son-in-law sold their Ballard 'cottage', it was sold on the weekend of the first open house. Their intent was to up-grade to a larger home. However, each time they found a home they liked, they were out bidded by someone else.
Finely they they found a very nice older two-story craftsman in Wallingford. The seller accepted their offer, however, there were at least 6 other people trying to buy this house, and they had 'accelerator clauses' in their offers. Even though the house is now sold, these other buyers are still 'fighting' over this house and what they are offering is way over the sellers asking price.
This is definently not a sign of a home sales recession, specially not in Seattle. There is a frantic search for homes going on here.

[AzDreamer]

Originally Posted by Vinylly

This is definently not a sign of a home sales recession, specially not in Seattle. There is a frantic search for homes going on here.

Maybe we should wait for the next Case Shiller report before popping the champagne corks.

According to the most recent report with January data, Seattle home prices were:

Down 2.4% December to January
Down 6.7% year over year
Down 29.6% from the July 2007 peak

I would caution potential home buyers against jumping into a market where prices are still falling.

[Ira500]

I don't doubt Vinylly in the least. I'm sure that what he said happened really happened.
But that's not the same thing as saying that " The Seattle real estate market is very hot."
Because it's not. What is happening is that homes in certain Seattle neighborhoods like Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna, Phinney Ridge, and Greenlake are selling quickly if they're priced right.
1920's Craftsman homes on Phinney Ridge, if they're in half decent shape, and priced under 500,000 or so, are not going to stay on the market for long. They're hot.
But that's not the whole city. More expensive homes, the million dollar plus homes in Magnolia, the top of Queen Anne, and Madison Park are lingering on the market. And there's all kinds of stuff for sale, staying on the market, in neighborhoods considered less desirable ( Rainier Valley, South Beacon Hill, Lake City, etc).
If you do a search for homes for sale in Seattle right now, most of the stuff is either way too expensive ( so that there are very few buyers able to afford them) or is in really crappy condition and/or ugly or in less sought after neighborhoods. There's not a lot of cool old houses in nice neighborhoods in decent shape. Those are the houses that everyone seems to want in Seattle, and those get gobbled up.
But the city as a whole is far from being a " very hot" market.
There's more than one real estate market in Seattle. Certain houses in certain neighborhoods=hot.
Everything else= pretty slow.

[Vinylly]

Sorry if I offended you. I wrote this post in great haste. Seems I was in a hurry to bid on the next house that popped on the market !!!!

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by Vinylly

Sorry if I offended you. I wrote this post in great haste. Seems I was in a hurry to bid on the next house that popped on the market !!!!

I guess there are those who forget that these posts are not term papers subject to grading. Yes, it's quite easy to post something in a hurry, and later find out that you were writing "Tarzan English" There is a reason you see so many posts that indicate they were later edited by the author.

[Transmition]

Maybe the particular segment of the housing market they are going for just happens to be filled with crazy people at the moment, and/or the asking price is intentionally low to encourage this kind of thing.

<hope HonestOne1 doesn't look at the spelling in my name>

[Ira500]

The other thing is:
When someone reads " The Seattle real estate market is very hot", they might automatically assume that it's a real estate agent doing the posting, pretending to be just a normal person. In Vinyilly's case, he or she is not a real estate agent, and is just reporting on their own recent observation of the local real estate market.

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by Ira500

The other thing is:
When someone reads " The Seattle real estate market is very hot", they might automatically assume that it's a real estate agent doing the posting, pretending to be just a normal person. In Vinyilly's case, he or she is not a real estate agent, and is just reporting on their own recent observation of the local real estate market.

I agree. This is Vinylly's take on the situation, and s/he is simply telling it as s/he sees it. Nothing wrong with that, misspellings and all!

[evda]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I don't doubt Vinylly in the least. I'm sure that what he said happened really happened.
But that's not the same thing as saying that " The Seattle real estate market is very hot."
Because it's not. What is happening is that homes in certain Seattle neighborhoods like Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna, Phinney Ridge, and Greenlake are selling quickly if they're priced right.
1920's Craftsman homes on Phinney Ridge, if they're in half decent shape, and priced under 500,000 or so, are not going to stay on the market for long. They're hot.
But that's not the whole city. More expensive homes, the million dollar plus homes in Magnolia, the top of Queen Anne, and Madison Park are lingering on the market. And there's all kinds of stuff for sale, staying on the market, in neighborhoods considered less desirable ( Rainier Valley, South Beacon Hill, Lake City, etc).
If you do a search for homes for sale in Seattle right now, most of the stuff is either way too expensive ( so that there are very few buyers able to afford them) or is in really crappy condition and/or ugly or in less sought after neighborhoods. There's not a lot of cool old houses in nice neighborhoods in decent shape. Those are the houses that everyone seems to want in Seattle, and those get gobbled up.
But the city as a whole is far from being a " very hot" market.
There's more than one real estate market in Seattle. Certain houses in certain neighborhoods=hot.
Everything else= pretty slow.

I've noticed this too and wonder how long it will carry on for. There is not a large supply of these type homes in these neighborhoods being put up for sale. When will the floodgates open and this trend cease to exist?

FWIW, most houses fitting this criteria sell about for their asking price, not much more.

[oldtrader]

Here is a link to what is considered to be the best guide to what is happening in the real estate market. Considered by experts that is.

Seattle, WA real estate overview - Trulia.com

The market is not that hot, and the prices are falling with more foreclosures going on the market on a regular basis now.