Kent, Neighborhoods & Market Reports, Real Estate Advice

Engaging and Vital Real Estate Statistics for Kent, WA

Over the last few days, I’ve blogged a bit about market updates: Boring but Invaluable Statistics for Auburn and Tedious but Crucial Statistics for Maple Valley, Washington. After yesterday’s Maple Valley post, one reader from another site where I also post these stats, chimed in to say “why are you calling these Tedious?”

Hmmm. With that light admonition in mind, I decided that Real Estate Statistics for Kent, should, at the very least, be classified as “Engaging and Vital.”

Because I live in Auburn, am based out of my Maple Valley office, raised my family in Kent and live only a few blocks outside of the Kent city limits, keeping an eye on what’s happening just down the street is meaningful and useful to my clients.

So here goes.

Suppose you are a client of mine with a home in Kent. You’re considering putting the home on the market and want to know what it’s worth. Logical question, right? Now, as a responsible agent, just one of the steps I consider is what comparable homes in your area are selling for. That quick scan points to a number right around the $350,000 mark.

However, to fully help you consider your home’s marketing path, you must also consider what folks are spending money on in the area. Enter Engaging and Vital Statistic #1:

 

So … hmmm, what does this chart imply? Well, it certainly shows that your home at $350,000 is well above the average dollar amount for homes sold at any time during 2010 in Kent. As your agent, I’d then want to know “How many homes have sold for around $350,000 in Kent for the last six months?“

Let’s see what the next Engaging and Vital Statistic #2  has to say:

Okay, so it looks like there’s a dramatic difference in price points here. Granted this chart doesn’t narrow down numbers so that we can be completely precise, but here it’s obvious that a house worth $350k had better be priced under that $350k mark. Maybe $345k would be a better number as there’s a striking difference the number of homes sold priced between $300-$349,999 and those priced between $350k-$399,999!

Next question from my savvy potential seller – How long will it take to sell my house? Now, in a live listing presentation, I’d have narrowed down Engaging and Vital Statistic #3 so that it closely met the criteria specific to my pricing recommendation. In the following chart, however, take a look at how long houses are on the market before an offer is received and acceptable to both the Buyer and the Seller; i.e., before a house is Pending:

A quick review shows that WOW, it took a LONG time to get an offer before your home went pending in July — somewhere around 130 days! That’s the longest time since I began tracking statistics in Kent in 2004! However, don’t lose heart, my dear Seller — remember that your time on market will be less, because we’re going to price your home correctly right from the very beginning! Homes that have been on the market for 130 days have certainly had at least one price reduction, but most likely two or more.

So … if I get an offer, will the sale close? GOOD question! It’s surprising how often homes that went pending (remember — pending is an offer where everyone has agreed on all contractual terms) did not actually close. Sometimes it’s because financing failed for the buyer, sometimes the home doesn’t pass muster based on what the buyer wants. Sometimes things happen! … Engaging and Vital Statistics #4 and 5 display the number of homes that went pending … and the number of homes that sold:

Just over 76 homes were pending in July … but wait, it takes some time for houses to close after an offer.  Maybe 45 days or so. So let’s look at May and June. Looks like about 85-90 each month. …

… Looks like just over 75 sold (Sale Closed) in July. A few more in June. So approximately what? 8-10% of the homes that went pending did not close.

Looks like I’d (your agent) better be sure that I do my homework when you get a offer to be sure we’ve done everything possible to be sure your Buyer is qualified, that the lender will work hard to do their part, and that the selling agent (the one representing the buyer) is also committed to the transaction.

As you can see, basic statistics such as these tell a story. They help us understand what the “market” is doing specific to your area. They help us understand what some of the difficulties and challenges might be in a transaction.

Engaging and Vital Real Estate Statistics are … well … engaging and vital!