Weekly interest and loan rates | Home values Northwest stock contest 2004 | Consumer affairs

Buyers chasing too few homes

By Kristina Shevory
Seattle Times Eastside business reporter

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Homebuyers looking to beat rising mortgage rates rushed into the market last month, pushing closed sales up 12 percent in King County and 3.7 percent in Snohomish County.

Active listings in King County fell more than 20 percent compared with May 2003, and Snohomish County inventory fell nearly 17 percent.

"The biggest problem we're having right now is that buyers are caught up in a buying frenzy," said Henry Samonte, an agent with John L. Scott Real Estate in Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood. "It seems to me (that) buyers are so frustrated, they're just trying to tie something up. But they've rescinded a week or two later. People really aren't thinking it through."

Compared with a year earlier, fewer homes were for sale all over King County in May.

Inventory fell 23.3 percent in Southeast King County, 21.3 percent on the Eastside, 19.3 percent in Seattle, 16.3 percent in the Southwest and 6.8 percent north of Seattle, according to numbers released yesterday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The Kirkland company tracks monthly home sales in 16 Washington counties.

Some would-be sellers are staying put, choosing instead to refinance and remodel their homes.

Anxious buyers pushed up pending sales, which are offers that have been accepted but not yet closed. A barometer of future sales activity, they rose 14 percent in King County and nearly 19 percent in Snohomish County.

As long as interest rates stay low, real-estate agents expect sales to remain strong. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 6.32 percent in May after breaking 6 percent at the end of April, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

The housing market has become a bonanza for sellers. Some are taking their time putting homes up for sale, thinking the market will heat up more, causing buyers to pay top dollar.

More sellers are receiving multiple offers, and not just those under $250,000. High-end homes under $800,000 are attracting more interest.

The prospect of multiple offers is affecting how some sellers handle offers.

One couple, preparing to list their home through Kevin Wick of Keller Williams Realty in Everett, decided they won't accept an offer until their home has been on the market for 10 days.

"They want to make sure their house gets exposed to enough people," Wick said. "Who's to say they couldn't get it exposed to more people and get top dollar?"

Rising prices have made it more difficult to find a low-priced starter home.

"We're still in a sellers' market," said Toren Heald, an agent in Prudential MacPherson's Woodinville office. "They're getting $10,000 to $15,000 more than they would have six months ago because inventory is low."

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

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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