February Real Estate Report

Steady as she goes

Good weather has always been considered a big plus when it comes to selling a home, and environmental conditions may have played an improbable-but-positive role on the local real estate scene in the first couple months of the year. Economic conditions, not so much. Nevertheless, Madison Park’s real estate market seems to be fairly stable, and the under-$2 million market seems downright robust compared to last year. These are the sales results in Madison Park for the month of February:

Houses

Sales: 7
Median Sale Price: $1,508,286
Average Sq. Ft.: 3,433
Average Price per Sq. Ft.: $507.16
Average Days on Market: 206
Average Discount from Original List Price: 9.7%

Condos

Sales: 1
Sale Price: $975,000
Sq. Ft.: 1,537
Price per Sq. Ft.: $634.35
Days on Market: 67
Discount from Original List Price: 0%

This compares to the two home sales recorded in Madison Park during February 2009, as reported by the King County Assessor. It’s interesting to note that the house sales this year varied widely in terms of their time on the market. One home sold after being listed for only three days—and at 100% of the list price. At the other end of the spectrum, a $1,600,000 house in Broadmoor sold after 673 days on the market—and at a 20% discount from the initial list price. Of the eight sales, three homes sold in less than three months, while three of the houses sold after over a half year on the market (each of these in Broadmoor).

The most expensive home sold in February was a $3,900,000, 3,200 sq. ft. Washington Park residence located on Lake Washington. The least expensive house was a $679,000, three-bedroom home located north of Madison Street. So it is still possible to buy into Madison Park for under $1 million.

But just barely. March’s inventory is pretty sparse on under-$1 million house listings. Of 51 listings, there are only five that are in that price range—and two of these, just barely so ($975,000). The median price (the point at which half are priced lower and half higher) is $1,895,000, which is pretty much where it’s been for the past year or so. Most of the inventory is in Washington Park and Broadmoor. Although the rest of Madison Park constitutes more than half of the total residences in the neighborhood, there are only 13 houses listed for sale in the “North of Madison, East of Broadmoor” section, representing only 25% of total listings. These houses are not cheap, either, with a median price of $1,295,000.

There were 15 new listings, including 12 houses, since our last report. There are currently 71 listings in Madison Park, including 18 condos and one duplex. The by-far most expensive home on the market is this impressive-if-austere sawn Texas limestone house (466 39th Avenue E.). The Stuart Silk-designed 6,600 sq. ft. residence was built in 2009 and sits serenly on Lake Washington (Windermere Real Estate’s handy mortgage calculator reports that you can buy this house with monthly payments of only $55,399, assuming a 5% interest rate and 20% down).

The least expensive listed house is this 1926 stucco 770 sq. ft. two-bed/one-bathroom bungalow at $579,000:

I think the general mood among local real estate agents is pretty positive, although many of them are known for their professional Pollyannaism. Nevertheless, the picture in the Park seems to be fairly sunny. Pendings continue strong (15 properties were listed as pending sale as of March 19), and agents report that there are a lot of people looking—at least compared to this time last year. Good cause for cautious optimism.

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[Upper photo: This 1930's Tudor listed at $1,750,00 is located at 1120 36th Avenue E.; middle photo was uploaded from the Stuart Silk website, hyperlinked above; lower photo uploaded from Redfin, also hyperlinked above. Special thanks to Wendy Skerritt of Windermere Real Estate-Capitol Hill for her assistance in compiling market statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.]