December Reporting Roundup

Did you happen to read the front page of the Seattle Times today, January 6, 2011? Eric Pryne, Seattle Times: Hot December for King County home sales. You’ve heard of Christmas in July? The real-estate market got just the opposite last month: July-like sales for Christmas.
More houses sold in King County in December than in any other month since the Federal tax credits last summer and sent sales into decline, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Why the surge? Industry insiders and observers cited several possible influences:
  • The market finally has worked its way through the lull it fell into after the tax credits’ expiration.
  • Buyers are climbing off the fence, even if they suspect prices will continue slipping, because they fear interest rates will rise and wipe out any savings.
  • There may have been a push to get some long-languishing short sales – sales for less than sellers owe lenders – closed before year end.
OB Jacobi, member of the board of directors of Northwest Multiple Listing Service – “If you were in any mall in Washington State in December, you got the feeling that the economy is headed in the right direction” “That increase in consumer confidence is the boost the real estate market needs”
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