Published July 2004

Pending home sales up, inventory down

SCBJ Staff

Snohomish County’s housing activity in May continued the pattern of recent months, with pending sales and prices up and inventory down, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported.

Closed sales in the county rose less than 4 percent, from 1,401 a year ago to 1,453 in May, but pending sales were up nearly 19 percent, from 1,455 a year ago to 1,728 in May, indicating a continued strong market.

Homes sold in May also sold more quickly than they did last year at that time, spending an average of 56 days on the market, three days fewer than in May 2003. Condos alone took an average of 57 days to sell.

Prices were also significantly higher than last year’s figures. The combined median price for single-family homes and condominiums in the county in May was $238,495, a nearly 7 percent increase in comparison to the $222,950 median of May 2003.

But the listing service noted that the drop in inventory is a concern, with the 4,141 homes listed for sale in the county in May a drop of almost 17 percent from the year-ago figure of 4,982.

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