Seattle Soaring?

When talk turns to real estate in the United States, the general trend is one of ongoing despair.

The Case-Shiller index continues to tell a dreary tale and gloom and doom is abounds.

Which is why we raised an eyebrow at this headline from the Seattle Post Intelligencer: "Seattle Real Estate Roaring." (hat tip DM)

The PI reports that real estate sales in Seattle are the most dramatic in at least five years.

In fact home sales have been on the rise for months, but the PI says previous gains in homes prices had been minor.

May’s real estate statistics, however, have solidified the up trend and pushed it into overdrive.

Prices of houses sold in Seattle increased 10.5 percent year-over-year. The lacking inventory of Seattle homes for sale in the most popular neighborhoods has created bidding wars and sellers are becoming more confident in pricing their homes higher in recent months. Condo prices gained 7.4 percent, with the same dearth of inventory creating a serious shortage as buyers struggle find available condos in South Lake Union, Downtown, and Capitol Hill.

Total sales of houses in Seattle climbed 22.3 percent in May, as compared to the same month in 2011. Sales of condos increased 29.6 percent, a whopping increase of nearly 1/3 more sales, while at the same time inventory of available Seattle real estate was down 37 percent.

The picture is similar on the Eastside with slightly muted numbers, as we’re seeing 1-2 percent gains in home prices, but a 19 percent increase in the number of total Eastside home sales. Based on Seattle’s trend, the Eastside may follow suit shortly and be in for a significant bump.

Overall, King County house prices saw a gain of around 5 percent and condo prices saw a drop of about 2 percent, with Seattle’s large gains offsetting some price drops in outlying areas of the county. Total sales in King County increased 24 percent for houses, and 25 percent for condos.

The PI says Seattle housing inventory numbers very low right now. And while there will certainly be more short sales and foreclosures coming to the market in the future, the PI believes the current market for traditional resale and new construction home is strong and hasn’t looked this good since 2006.

Which the paper notes feels like a lifetime ago.

Is it an anomaly... or is the market turning around for the Emerald City?

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