If you followed home sales last year, you probably heard it was a frustratingly fast, multiple-offer market — or a frustrating slump when houses seemed to languish.

Which take was true? As The Times' annual analysis of single-family home sales by King and Snohomish County neighborhoods reveals, the answer is all-purpose: It depends on the area.

Indeed, 2003's appreciation rates — a measure of sales "hotness" — were all over the map. County highs reached 12 percent in South Everett and 15 percent in Rainier Beach and flatlined or worse in Snohomish, Seattle's Madison Park, Newport Shores on the Eastside and in other neighborhoods.

It was, notes real-estate appraiser Alan Pope, a "transitional year" that signaled transition a couple of years ahead of schedule.

"Historically, the market moves in 10-year cycles," Pope observes. "The first two or three years of the decade are slow. Now we're in the fourth year of a decade, and we have an appreciating market. What amazes me is almost all price points in the marketplace today are seeing some level of price gain."

Last year, homes in the southern half of Snohomish County appreciated an average of 5.6 percent. King County registered a 5 percent gain. Both were the highest recorded since 1999.

Within counties, neighborhood variations in appreciation are caused by a variety of factors, Pope says. Most important are proximity to employment centers and ease of commute.

Many neighborhoods with a lot of entry-level homes also fared well last year — in some cases better than such traditionally popular and pricey enclaves as Mercer Island and Laurelhurst, which both posted negligible appreciation.

Here's one theory real-estate pros posit for that: Both those areas are "move-up neighborhoods," and potential buyers may have considered it wiser to refinance their current homes — at record low interest rates — while waiting for the economy to strengthen.

Pope says another factor affecting appreciation is new construction. The more homes going up, the more that mitigates prices. In much of King County, however, there aren't many new houses being built. That puts a real squeeze on availability.

The shortage is particularly felt in the lower, first-time-buyer price ranges, which helps explain why Rainier Beach enjoyed King County's highest one-year appreciation gain.

"It's an area that's been kind of a sleeper, but it's definitely come alive," observes Brian Fairchild, branch manager of Windermere's Seattle-Mount Baker office. He describes Rainier Beach as "an area with views that's reasonably priced," which has been discovered by buyers from North and Central Seattle.

"It continues to be hot. We have very few properties for the demand, and that's why we have so many multiple offers," Fairchild explains. "There just aren't enough houses on the market right now."

That paucity of affordable homes last year drove many entry-level buyers north to Snohomish County. Some chose instead to head south to such King County communities as Enumclaw and Auburn, where homes were available under $200,000. (Many also pursued affordability into Pierce County's northern reaches.)

Three years ago, about 35 percent of his Snohomish County first-time buyers came from King County, reports T.C. Hyatt, an agent in John L. Scott's Everett office. By last year it was more like 65 percent.

"They feel priced out of King County," Hyatt says, "and they're a little distraught at first."

Many have been living in North Seattle rentals and want to buy a house there. "When they say, 'I can afford $220,000 and want a three-bedroom, two-bath newer home,' I have to tell them that, unfortunately, there really isn't anything like that in North King County."

That's exactly what Mark Kedziorski, 47, found. In the mid-1980s, he and his former wife had purchased a house in Shoreline. Last summer, Kedziorski, who works in South Seattle, hoped to buy his own home in Shoreline or nearby Edmonds. He figured he surely could find one in the $190,000 range.

But there were two problems. Unbelievably to him, there were no single-family houses in those areas in his price range. And even if he'd set his sights a bit higher, that wouldn't have worked because his lender set his purchase limit at $189,500.

Using Hyatt as his agent, the two headed north, and in only a month found a deal of a house: three bedrooms on a roomy 11,500-square-foot lot in Snohomish County's Silver Firs neighborhood near Silver Lake.

"This house was the last one I looked at, and it was the cheapest out of all of them. I couldn't believe it," Kedziorski marvels. What moderated the price, $186,000, was a poorly maintained front yard. He's already remedying that.

The closer neighborhoods are to downtown Seattle, generally the higher their median price. (Median means half the properties sell for more and half sell for less.) Last year, virtually all North Seattle in-city neighborhoods had medians of $250,000 or above.

Ballard is one area many first-timers aspire to, and entry-level Ballard bungalows are now in the $300,000 range, says Coldwell Banker Bain broker Dick Fulton. "You have to say for in-city that's where they start. I'm not talking fixer. I'm talking ready to move into."

The first-timers who can swing these purchases typically are two-income families with stable incomes and good credit. "They're not just professionals ... attorneys or in the high-tech business. They are in a great variety of jobs." But a crucial thing they have in common, Fulton says, is that they've made house-buying their highest priority.

Another thing many have in common is "not much of a down payment," he adds. But the timing for such buyers could hardly be better. Not only are lenders offering numerous low- or zero-down-payment options (and down-payment assistance), but mortgage rates continue to remain low.

Getting a zero-down loan and low interest certainly helped Kedziorski. He figures his purchase cost less than $1,000 out of pocket — on a house that will appreciate more than that in the coming year, if appreciation rates hold steady for his neighborhood.

Last year's average mortgage interest rate, 5.8 percent, was the lowest in four decades, according to the National Association of Realtors. It added major fuel to record-high home sales both here and nationally. Equally low rates so far this year are continuing to propel sales, but they're not the only factor, notes the NAR's chief economist, David LeReah.

"With a strong underlying demand for housing from a growing population in a recovering economy, we could be flirting with another record this year," LeReah said in a prepared release.

Elizabeth Rhodes: erhodes@seattletimes.com