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King County home-sale closes climb 50 percent in October

By Kristina Shevory
Seattle Times Eastside business reporter

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"Everyone is pretty confident these rates will stay about the same," said Dean Street, an agent with John L. Scott Real Estate in Bellevue. "People are still taking their money out of stocks and bonds and putting them into investment properties like single-family homes."

Closed sales and prices rose in October in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties compared with a year ago, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service said yesterday. The Kirkland group tracks home sales in 14 Washington counties.

Within King County, closed sales in the southeast soared 71.8 percent last month compared with October 2002.

Pending sales, a barometer of the future, jumped 18.1 percent in King County, 9.8 percent in Snohomish County, 11.8 percent in Kitsap and 6.4 percent in Pierce.

During October, interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.77 to 6.05 percent then finished the month at 5.94 percent, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

Median prices climbed across the region, but real-estate agents continue to see price cuts on high-end homes.

A three-bedroom town home on Queen Anne Hill that sold three years ago for $1.25 million was resold last month for $850,000, said Kimberly Brangwin, managing broker of Coldwell Banker Bain's Metro Seattle office.

"In the lower price ranges under $450,000 in Seattle, homes are still receiving multiple offers because there's a lot of interest in getting into a home," Brangwin said. "But there's concern among buyers about homes over ($1 million). At the higher price ranges, it's more of a buyers market, and there are more concessions and aggressive negotiating."

Compared with October 2002, new listings dropped 14 percent in King County, 17.7 percent in Snohomish, 13.6 percent in Pierce and 8.4 percent in Kitsap.

It also took less time to sell a home last month in two of the four counties. Homes in King County sold in an average 57 days, or 10 days faster than last year; in Pierce County, they sold in 65 days, three days faster. It took six days longer, or 60 days, to sell in Snohomish County, and five days longer, or 76 days, in Kitsap County.

Kristina Shevory: 206-464-2039 or kshevory@seattletimes.com

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