Home Sales, Prices Soared Last Year In Puget Sound

KIRKLAND, WA — Real estate brokers across Washington closed the books on a banner year for sellers in 2021, while buyers navigated historically low inventory and double-digit price increases. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service released its 2021 summary on Wednesday, outlining the eye-popping totals reported by its more than 33,000 member brokers working across 26 counties.

Together those brokers closed more than 107,000 sales valued at a combined $75 billion, up almost 34 percent from 2020, the NWMLS found. The number of closed sales increased 12 percent from the year before, with transactions topping 100,000 for the first time. The vast majority of sales, at 86 percent, were for single-family homes, followed by condos at 14 percent.

The median selling price for single-family homes and condos across the region was $565,000, up nearly 19 percent from 2020, and all but two counties experienced double-digit increases, the report found. Prices varied widely by county, with San Juan County reaching the area's highest median price of $860,000 for a single-family home — an annual increase of almost 27 percent. King County was right on its heels, where the median sale price was just over $828,000, up 14.2 percent.

NWMLS found that record low housing inventory persisted throughout 2021, failing to reach more than a month's supply at any point. Buyers faced a seller's market and often paid north of already ballooning prices. Overall, brokers reported nearly half of all single-family homes sold for between $500,000 and $1 million, while fewer than 6 percent were sold for less than $300,000.

"Further evidence of a seller's market is indicated by the ratio of listing (or asking) price to sales price," NWMLS wrote Wednesday. "For last year's sales, buyers found themselves in competitive bidding situations, often paying above asking price. Overall buyers of homes in King county paid 106.6%, followed by purchasers in Snohomish County who paid 106%."

The intense housing rush carried into the luxury market, with NWMLS recording more than 14,600 homes sold for more than $1 million last year — a surge of more than 75 percent from 2020. The report said 174 houses garnered their sellers $5 million or more.

Leading the pack was a Seattle home on the waterfront of Lake Washington, which fetched nearly $31 million, followed by three homes on the Eastside that sold for more than $20 million.

For luxury condos, brokers reported nearly two dozen that sold for more than $3 million and three that sold for more than $6 million. Landing among the most expensive was a top floor penthouse inside Seattle's Escala building, sold for $7 million, and a waterfront condo in Kirkland where the buyer paid $6.5 million.

Here are a few other 2021 findings assembled by the NWMLS:

• Pending sales totaled 121,025 for the year for a slight improvement (about 2%) from 2020 when there were 118,607 mutually accepted offers.
• Ten counties ended 2021 with double- or triple-digit gains in closed sales.
• The median price for a 3-bedroom home ranged from $239,900 in Ferry County to $836,550 in San Juan County.
• Prices vary widely when comparing school districts in the MLS service area. In six districts, the median sales price for single family homes was $1 million or higher, led by Mercer Island at $2,222,500. Also in this seven-figure segment were three districts in King County: Bellevue, Issaquah and Lake Washington, along with school districts in Bainbridge Island in Kitsap County and Lopez Island in San Juan County.
• Average prices for single family homes (excluding condos) in the tri-county areas of King, Pierce and Snohomish have skyrocketed since 1991:
  • From 1991 to 2001 prices rose 88.8% in King County, 57% in Snohomish County and 32.3% in Pierce County.
  • From 2001 to 2011 prices increased 31.2% in King County, 16.2% in Snohomish County and 23.5% in Pierce County.
  • From 2011 to 2021 prices surged 249% in King County, 274% in Snohomish County and 258% in Pierce County.
• A closer look at 8,580 condo sales within six “sub areas” of King County (where nearly 60% of all condo sales were located) shows Seattle accounted for 3,373 of them (about 39%), followed by the Eastside with 36%. The priciest condos, with a median sales price of $550,000, are on the Eastside, followed by Seattle ($495,000). Head south for more affordably priced condos. In the Southwest part of King County, the median sales price was $280,000, followed by the Southeast segment at $340,000.