Region's home sales down 39 percent in June

Median price falls 5.7 percent

DAVE GALLAGHER

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For much of Western Washington, the real estate market continued its slumber in terms of home sales in June, according to a report released Monday.

Home and condominium sales in a 19-county region, including Whatcom, King and Snohomish, were down 39 percent compared to June 2007, while the median price for a home dropped 5.7 percent, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The June drop in home sales was similar to Whatcom County�s numbers released last week in a report by Lylene Johnson of The Muljat Group South office in Fairhaven. Johnson�s report, which is based on MLS data, noted that Whatcom County home sales in June were down 39.1 percent compared to the same period last year, but the median price locally was up 1.6 percent.

MORE LOCAL NUMBERS

A look at Whatcom County numbers from Northwest Multiple Listing report that were not included in last week�s report from real estate agent Lylene Johnson, who also analyzes the data:

> Home and condominium sales, June 2008: 242, down 35.6 percent from June 2007.
> Pending home and condo sales, June 2008: 328, down 20 percent from June 2007.
> Year-to-date home and condo sales: 1,296, down 19.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2007.
> Year-to-date median home and condo price: $265,000, down 3.1 percent compared to the first six months of 2007.

Home and condominium sales were down significantly in Skagit (down 36.1 percent), Snohomish (48 percent) and King (down 40.9 percent) counties. Among those three counties, Skagit saw the biggest drop in median price in June, falling 14.4 percent from $303,250 in June 2007 to $259,950 last month.

One point of optimism for Western Washington real estate agents was in pending sales � offers that were made and accepted but not yet closed. In the 19-county region, there were 6,470 pending sales, the highest total since August. However, those pending sales were down 29.7 percent compared to June 2007.

�Home buyers are starting to get off the fence and into the market, drawn by drops in home prices in many areas and armed with greater access to affordable mortgages,� said Richard Gaylord, president of the National Association of Realtors.

New listings have also slowed down in the Northwest MLS region. The number of new listings for homes and condominiums in June was 13,187, down 16.6 percent year over year.

In Whatcom County, there were 501 new listings, down 20.5 percent year over year.