The newly released Northwest Multiple Listing Service statistics confirm that all real estate is local, and Seattle ain't all that bad! While the national numbers for real estate sales last year look dismal, here in the Seattle area we are holding up pretty well.
The NWMLS, which covers 19 counties statewide, just reported that in 2007 there were 2,186 sales of single family homes and 125 sales of condominiums priced at $1 million or more (up from 2,099 during 2006). They also reported 1,115 condos sold for $500,000 or more (up from 859 during 2006), an increase of nearly 30 percent.
For the area covering Bellevue west of 405 (map area 520 using NWMLS area coding) had the highest number of million dollar-plus sales with 240, followed by Kirkland/Bridle Trails with 185 and Central Seattle/Madison Park with 177. For high-end condos ($500,000-plus), Belltown claimed the highest number of sales (28 units).
In King County, the average price of a single family home that sold in 2007 was $564,468, up 8.9 percent from 2006. And the average price of a condo in King County was $329,627, up 8.7 percent. Modest but respectable gains while most of the rest of the country has seen slides in prices, sometimes big ones.