Western Washington Home Prices Continue to Rise

Windermere Real Estate is proud to partner with Gardner Economics on this analysis of the Western Washington real estate market.   Matt Gardner provides indepth analysis of first quarter 2013 economic and real estate data on Windermere.com.  

In his first quarter 2013 recap Gardner observes, "The Samuel Taylor Coleridge quote, “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink”, from the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, is somewhat apt when looking at our regional real estate market. Buyers are driving through neighborhoods looking for homes, but the choices are scant.  Without a doubt, there are far more buyers than sellers in the market right now—and this is becoming an issue. That said, the region registered 11,349 home sales in the first quarter of 2013—an increase of 9.7 percent over the same quarter in 2012. Inasmuch as this is certainly positive, buyers are complaining not only about lack of choice, but also that intense bidding for homes that are on the market may be the precursor to another housing bubble.  Although I can sympathize with buyers, I do not believe that we are entering another bubble, but rather that the market has regained its confidence.  For Gardner's entire report including regional employment data CLICK HERE.