2019 has come to a close and the big headline from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) is that agents facilitated 92,503 closings which represented more than $49 billion in sales. Compared to 2018 this was an increase in sales of $1.8 billion or 3.8%. The NWMLS serves 23 counties in Washington with King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties leading the sales figures. Out of the 92,503 closings last year King County had 31,755 of those closings, Snohomish County had 14,384, and Pierce County 15,718. Those three counties alone represented 67% of the total regional sales volume. Behind these sales was over 32,000 real estate brokers registered with the NWMLS. I feel privileged that with all the clients I was able to help in 2019 I finished in the top 1,000 agents ranked by gross sales.

Of last year’s 92,503 completed sales, 80,734 were single family homes (87.3%) and 11,769 were condos (12.7%). New construction represented approximately 13% of the total sales. The area-wide median price for last year’s sales was $425,000 which is an increase of 5.7% compared to the median price of $402,000 in 2018. King County led the pack with a median sales price of $619,000.

When we take condos out of the equation the median price for single family homes increased by 6.1%, from $410,000 in 2018 to $435,000 last year. Condo prices were flat, rising less than one percent from the 2018 median price of $352,000 to 2019’s selling price of $355,000.

Lower inventory and low months of supply which both point to a seller’s market persisted throughout 2019. NWMLS agents added 110,940 new listings (down 5.3% from the 2018), only to find that volume being outpaced by pending sales. Those pending sales were represented by agents reporting 114,410 mutually accepted offers during 2019 which was a gain over 2018 by 1.9%.

Here are some additional stats from the past year of real estate in our region:

• About 45% of last year’s home sales had three bedrooms; of the condo component, about seven of every 10 condos (70.7%) had two or fewer bedrooms.
• The median price for a 3-bedroom home ranged from $182,000 in Ferry County to $624,500 in San Juan County.
• More than 55% of all condo sales were located in King County.
• For the new construction segment, new condos continued to fetch higher prices than single family homes. Last year’s sales included 10,944 new single family homes that sold for a median price of $550,000 and 979 condos that sold for a median price of $629,950. New homes in King County commanded the highest prices: $749,950 for single family homes, while newly built condos in Kitsap County fetched the highest median price at $1,485,000. A luxury development in Kitsap County accounts for that high median price.
• 391 condos sold for more than $1 million dollars.
• Prices have big variances when comparing school districts in the MLS service area. Single family homes that sold in the Mercer Island district had a median price of $1,665,500! This was the highest among all school districts.
• The most expensive property last year sold in Hunt’s Point for $37,500,000!

Information and statistics derived from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Now that 2019 is closed out if you’re wondering what your home can sell for in 2020 feel free to send me a free property valuation request.

-Jennifer