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The Volume Of Calls Is A Fraction Of What It Was

A report from the Bellingham Herald in Washington. “Whatcom County home sale prices kept rising at a double-digit pace this summer, but there are signs that it won’t be a strong seller’s market much longer. Inventory is creeping up and multiple offers are becoming less frequent, said Darin Stenvers, branch manager at the Bellingham John L. Scott office. Stenvers expects to see a period where ‘price reduced’ is more commonly seen on home-for-sale signs. ‘This is not the seller’s market that we saw this spring,’ said Stenvers.”

“When putting a home on the market, sellers typically look at six months of sales on similar homes to determine a price. He said that’s not where the market is now and expects aggressive sellers will be forced to drop prices.”

The Seattle Times in Washington. “It’s getting easier to find an apartment to rent, and in some neighborhoods it’s even getting cheaper. Seattle-area renters are enjoying the least competitive market since the recession as more and more apartments sit empty and rents have flatlined — a trend that is likely to continue as the ongoing apartment-construction spree delivers an even higher number of new units in 2019.”

“The priciest neighborhoods getting the most new apartments — downtown Seattle, Belltown and South Lake Union — actually saw rents decline over the past year. The University District also saw rents dip, as did Sammamish-Issaquah.”

“‘It’s been slow. The volume of calls is a fraction of what it was a year and a half ago,’ said Larry Crites, who owns nine small apartment buildings in Seattle.”

“The Seattle area is building the fifth-most apartments of any metro area in the nation right now, and the four regions building more — Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. — are all significantly larger, according to RealPage. Only Dallas appears to be building more than Seattle on a per-capita basis.”

“King and Snohomish counties are on pace to see 13,700 apartments open next year, the most of the current cycle, RealPage data shows. That would push the total number of new units this decade past 80,000 — the most of any decade in history, beating out the suburban-led building boom of the 1980s.”

“The downtown Seattle core, which had an eye-popping 25.7 percent of all apartments empty in the spring, has since recovered a bit as the newer buildings start to fill up, but it still leads the region with 17.4 percent of units vacant. More than 10 percent of units are empty in East Bellevue, Bothell, the Shoreline area, Ballard, South Seattle, First Hill, Sammamish-Issaquah, South Lake Union, Queen Anne/Magnolia and Tukwila.”

“‘If a (renter) is coming into a new apartment community, the list of comps that they’re shopping is a lot longer today than it was before,’ Derek Lunde, senior marketing director at Red Propeller, which advises developers on how to fill up their apartments.”

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This Post Has 23 Comments

    1. “Eeee-bola Bellingham!”

      Can’t wait for the apartment inventory near WWU to increase. I just moved my daughter into an apartment on the south edge of the campus, and the place was filthy requiring two days of cleaning before moving her things inside it. Proximity was our primary variable, and the choices were limited.

  2. ‘as more and more apartments sit empty…a trend that is likely to continue as the ongoing apartment-construction spree delivers an even higher number of new units in 2019’

    Shortage!

    ‘The priciest neighborhoods getting the most new apartments — downtown Seattle, Belltown and South Lake Union — actually saw rents decline over the past year. The University District also saw rents dip, as did Sammamish-Issaquah’

    1. It seems like there might be some sort of connection between excessive rental price demands and empty apartments, but I just can’t put my finger on what the link might be.

    2. “Shortage!”

      The closer you get to the campus the prices rise quickly, and the places we’ve seen have a damp moldy odor about them. One bathroom and four to six students is the norm unless you can afford an upscale private place in nearby Fairhaven with a view of the bay.

    1. Per your own data the median home size fell 28%. Price per square foot was unchanged. Still don’t understand the hyperbole here MW.

        1. Good point. A wise man once said, “Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be less tomorrow for decades to come.”

          Given the record amounts of housing inventory, collapsing demand and record low population growth…. He’s right.

          Ebola!!!!!

          Bend, OR Housing Prices Crater 9% YOY As Portland Housing Collapse Accelerates

          https://www.movoto.com/bend-or/market-trends/

        2. This is how it must have felt when the Jurassic age was ending and we were moving into the Cretaceous.

  4. “‘It’s been slow. The volume of calls is a fraction of what it was a year and a half ago,’ said Larry Crites, who owns nine small apartment buildings in Seattle.”

    That’s because no one wants to rent an overpriced apartment from a shyster landlord, Larry. Cut the rent to a level where you’re providing good value for the money, and the phones will start ringing again.

    1. “condos and townhomes, the 1,356 properties listed without offers in September represented a hefty 99.4 percent increase from one year ago.”

      LMFAO!! LV is going down hard

    2. Looks like LV has caught up with Seattle and a few other bubble markets….When does Phoenix start crumbling?

      1. Phx has grinded to a halt. Price drops galore, back on market listings, rapidly increasing inventory. It’s here.

  8. Data is data and can mislead in either dirction, but if you look at trajectory, clearly that is changing and appears to be doing so in the same markets that got hit hard in the last go around as well as a few additional ones.

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