Eastside single-family May market report: homes sold over asking continue to peak
We’re a little bit behind but the numbers for how the Eastside single-family and townhome market performed in May are out.
The leading numbers for the market continue to be prices and competition. Homes continue to sell at record levels above list price and May was no exception. Single-family homes and townhomes hit above 110% over list price for the third month in a row as competition is still wild. Buyers, patience is the key! Interest rates are likely to trend to higher in the second half of the year so, with vaccinations on the rise, buyers should feel some relief from the competition.
Unsurprisingly, median sales price rebounded from the slight dip in April to $1,375,000 in May. Median price per square foot broke the record for the fourth month in a row this year as it climbed to $533 per square foot. Sellers, these tables should show that it’s still a great time to sell your home.
After hitting a high for the year in April, new listings dropped in May with only 739 single-family homes and townhomes hitting the market. This was a 7% drop month-over-month and despite a big week of listings prior to Memorial Day, I expect April was the high for the year in terms of new listings.
Despite that, buyers continue to compete for just about every listing that hits the market. On the Eastside, 784 homes were put under contract in May, marking a high for the year. When more homes go under contract than hit the market in a month, it’s no wonder we’re seeing record highs in prices!
Given the competition, we also continue to see record lows for median days on market every month. May was the fourth month in a row with homes spending just five days on the market. This beats out even the speed of the Seattle market which is at six days on market!
The number of homes for sale at the end of May dipped from April. Only 206 listings remained active and available across all of the Eastside.
Months of supply is the measure of how long it would take to sell all the homes on the market if no new homes hit the market. At current numbers of listings and speed in which homes sell, we’d sell out of all single-family and townhomes in under two weeks. For perspective, three months of inventory is usually considered to be a balanced market.
