More homes for sale in King County, but prices keep climbing

Frustrated recently by a shortage of available homes, King County buyers finally saw some easing last month. They had more homes to choose from in June than they did in May or even in June 2005.

But prices continued to rise, according the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which released June home sales statistics today.

Some highlights from Central Puget Sound counties:

King County reported 6,489 single-family homes for sale last month, an increase of 462 over May and 951 above June 2005. The median sales price hit $434,950, up from $427,950 a month earlier. West Bellevue was the most expensive area; the median sales price in that waterfront community was $1,187,500. The county also reported 988 condo sales last month — unchanged from a year earlier. However, the median price rose 16 percent to $250,000.

Snohomish County had 3,483 detached homes on the market last month, up from 3,255 in May and 2,747 last June. The median sales price was $349,825 — 17 percent above a year ago.

In Pierce County, 5,098 single-family homes were for sale last month. That's 381 more than in May and 1,634 more than in June 2005. The median home price was $279,900, up from $237,243 a year ago.

Kitsap County reported 1,634 homes for sale in June, up from 1,525 in May and 1,073 the previous June. Median sales price climbed to $284,950, up from $250,000 a year earlier.

Rising home prices come on top of rising mortgage interest rates — a double whammy for homebuyers. Mortgage-money provider Freddie Mac reported today that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages now average 6.79 percent — the highest rate since May 2002. Last year at this time the rate was 5.62 percent.

Elizabeth Rhodes: erhodes@seattletimes.com