More Homes Sold Than Newly Listed for the First Time in 5 Years

No one can deny that the real estate market we are currently in is challenging. As we’ve said before, we have a ways to go before we can say that the market as a whole has returned to normal. There are some positive signs, however. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service recently released its November 2011 Real Estate Statistics Report.

“November 2011 has marked the 7^th straight month of double-digit year-over-year increases in pending sales,” says University Place Managing Broker Jimi Couture. “Last month’s total number of mutually accepted offers was 22.4% higher than the same month a year ago, and November also marked the first month since December 2006 that the number of pending sales surpassed the number of new listings.”

The major factor placing downward pressure on pricing is the inventory of bank owned and distressed homes. For the four-county Puget Sound region, a check of the Northwest MLS database shows more than one fourth (26.8 percent) of the single-family homes that sold last month were classified as distressed, up from the year-ago figure of 21.9 percent.