King County Home Supply Update: July 2014

Home supply in King County cities including Seattle, Auburn and Renton has increased in the last month, although housing supply remains low overall. According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, in May 2014 the county had just 1.79 months of inventory, whereas now it has 1.8 months. As a reference point, four to six months of inventory is considered an optimum balance of supply and demand. Seattle, the biggest city in the county with the most homes for sale, just over 1800 as of this writing, has seen a boom in inventory. In Seattle there were 1.23 months in June 2014 and 1.9 this month, July 2014.

The low inventory rates throughout the county are due to an increasing trend in sales, reversing the downturn of the previous six years. Sales have in fact risen 4.4 percent from June 2013. 

The average sales price of a single family home in Seattle is $540,232 for 2,091 square feet, or $258 per square foot. The average listing price in Seattle is right around $680k, and 9% of the current market, 156 homes, is comprised of new construction. Although Seattle has the most homes for sale in the county, other popular cities in western Washington, including Renton, Kent and Auburn, have lower average listing prices, between the low and mid-300k range.