Pending sales for single-family residences and condos increased 11.08 percent to 391 units from 352 units in September 2008, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Monday.
Although nearly 400 home sales were in the pipeline in September, 265 homes sold last month, down from 269 in September 2008, the combined single-family residence and condo data show. More than 330 homes sold in August 2009.
Also in the year-over-year period ending in September: The median home price (the point where half the homes sell for more and half sell for less) fell 2.42 percent to $242,000 from $248,000, and the number of homes for sale fell nearly 15 percent to 1,754 units from 2,062 units, the combined single-family residence and condo data show.
On Monday, South Sound real estate professionals attributed the increased number of pending sales to the tax incentive program, which expires Nov. 30, and the fact that it is taking longer for the typical sale to close.
This likely is the last week to get a house under contract before the November deadline because it now takes up to 45 days, sometimes as many as 50 days, to close a sale, said Mark Kitabayashi, president-elect of the Thurston County Realtors Association.
This week is it, he said, adding that it used to take about 30 days for a transaction to be complete.
The reason for the longer closing times is that lenders are being more cautious in this market, Kitabayashi said, after lending standards were viewed as too lax during the recent housing boom.
Windermere Olympia real estate agent Gregory Moe agreed that the tax incentive program has boosted pending sales. Moe said he recently worked with a buyer who wanted to buy specifically to take advantage of the program. Under the program, a first-time buyer who purchases a house before Nov. 30 can receive up to $8,000 as part of their 2009 income tax return. Unlike an earlier tax credit program, the money doesnt need to be repaid.
Keller Williams Realty agent Phil Harlan acknowledged that the tax credit program had some effect on pending sales in September, although he thinks the program is being under-used. He attributed the growth in September pending sales to other factors, such as buyers returning to the market last month after taking vacations in July and August.
Harlan, meanwhile, listed a house for sale Monday, a 1,368-square-foot rambler in Lacey for $189,500. He expects the house to sell quickly because it is priced for the first-time buyer, Harlan said.
I dont expect it to last more than a week or two, he said.
Moe, who tracks the Thurston County housing market, said there are about 20 new listings daily, about 20 houses that go under contract daily and an equal number of price reductions daily. Hes also seeing an increased number of houses daily that cant sell and wind up back on the market again, Moe said.
Although the housing market is improving, the lack of local employment is holding the market back, he said.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
