King County median home prices in May continue to decline from year ago

Pending single-family home sales in King County surged again in May, prompting some real-estate professionals to suggest the market may have turned a corner.

But the numbers released today by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service weren't all positive.

Closed sales continued to trail last year's totals. And the median price of a King County single-family home that sold in May was $375,000, down nearly 15 percent year-over-year.

The service reported 2,246 pending sales in King County in May, up 27 percent from May 2008's total. It was the second straight month of year-over-year gains after months of declines.

Pending sales are offers that have been accepted by sellers, but haven't yet closed. Historically, almost all close within a month or so.

That's not happening this year, however. While pending sales in King County are up more than 3 percent during the first five months of this year, closed sales have dropped 32 percent.

In May closed sales were down 14 percent year-over-year.

Realtors attributed the disparity between pending and closed sales to a large number of "short sales" — sales for less than what's owed on a home — that generally take longer to process because they require the approval of sellers' lenders.

The listing service said in a prepared statement that the gap should shrink in coming months as the short-sale inventory shrinks.

But not all short sales close. A Bank of America executive told reporters last month that, nationally, 60 percent of the short sales the bank approves ultimately fall through, often because buyers lose patience or can't get financing.

Pending condo sales in King County in May were down 14 percent and closed sales down a whopping 44 percent from the same month last year, the listing service said. The median condo price dropped 6 percent, to $270,450.

In Snohomish County, pending single-family home sales were up nearly 40 percent year-over-year, while closed sales were down 7 percent. The median house price in the county was $310,000, down more than 11 percent from May 2008.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com