The Puget Sound Business Journal Reports an Increase in All-Cash Buyers in Seattle Area

Cites Realogics Sotheby's International Realty Research

In an article from Janaury 22nd, Marc Stiles of The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that, “All-cash buyers dominate region’s luxury home market,” as “nearly two-thirds of the people who bought high-end homes last year in the Seattle area paid cash.” In the feature, Stiles citesRealogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) research which found that the most expensive sale of 2015 was a waterfront estate on Mercer Island at $13.8 million.

Stiles likewise describes that in these cash deals, “thirty-nine percent of the buyers were from overseas, primarily China.” This finding aligns with a recent article in The Seattle Times that included RSIR’s market research and found that luxury sales have increased in the area thanks to the presence of tech executives and foreign buyers. Of particular interest was that RSIR found that the distinctive waterfront neighborhood of Newport Shores in Bellevue attracted 13 sales during the past two years that exceeded $3 million and 86% of the surnames on these newly recorded titles appear to be on Mainland Chinese origin. There were no such sales in 2011, 2012 or 2013.

In response to this steady rise of Chinese nationals arriving to the Seattle/Bellevue metro area, RSIR and Tiger Oak Publications recently released a 92-page, all-Mandarin magazine called Seattle Luxury Living, which generated a front-page article in the Seattle Times and was a featured story on the Perspectives blog by Sotheby’s International Realty®.

This recent slough of news pieces also comes on the heels of Palace Magazine’s recently published special report that added Seattle to its list of top markets sought by Asian homebuyers. “We are proud to represent our region within this elite publication and be included amongst our peer markets,” said Dean Jones, President and CEO of RSIR. “There is now little doubt that Seattle is on the map overseas and I believe this wave of foreign direct investment is just getting started.”

Market Update: November 2015

November’s numbers indicate that buyers continue to reign in King County, as residential homes spent an average of just one month on the market, down nearly 30% compared to last year. Inventory continued its low trend, as the number of active homes was down 44% year-over-year and 27% month-over-month. Given the low inventory and increased demand, the median sale price rose to $440K, up slightly from last month and nearly $40K from the previous year. In downtown Seattle, condo active inventory held steady month-over-month but was down 12% from the previous year. Downtown Seattle condos likewise saw an increase in median sale price, up over $100K compared to last year’s numbers.

For the latest numbers from areas around the sound, View November’s Market Reports >>

Sign up for our exclusive monthly market report updates >>

Seattle To Be A Hot Housing Market in 2015

Trulia released their annual report of the hottest housing markets to watch for in the coming year, and we have to say that we are not surprised to see that Seattle picked up the number ten spot on their list. Erin Renzas explained that this year, Trulia’s Chief Economist Jed Kolko determined which markets made the cut using “fundamentals such as job growth, rising incomes, and more household formation.” Thus, Renzas says his ten selections, “have strong fundamentals for housing activity,” which “include job growth, which fuels housing demand, and a low vacancy rate, which spurs construction.” She added that they “gave a few extra points to markets with a higher share of millennials.”

10. Seattle, WA

Companies like Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, and UPS have provided steady job growth for the area, but, hey, Seattleites know how to rock, too — as the home of grunge, which is still popular in the music scene there.

We cannot wait to see what 2015 brings as Seattle received a lot of attention this past year as Forbes Recognized it as Just About the Coolest City in the US, CNN Noted it’s Millennial Appeal, CNN Money Called it a Hot Market for Chinese Buyers, and KOMO TV Reported on the Downtown Building Boom.