Realogics Sotheby's International Realty Makes the Puget Sound Business Journal's List of Top Residential Real Estate Firms; Continues to Innovate Industry with "Change Agents"

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) is featured in the latest print version of the Puget Sound Business Journal for its position on the list of Top Residential Real Estate Firms (ranked by 2015 residential home sales in the Puget Sound region). Taking the 7th spot on the list, RSIR reported $800 million in local residential sales for 2015. Most notably, despite being smaller than any of the brokerages in the top 5 spots at 159 agents, the boutique brokerage reported an average sales price of $767,000, higher than the average of each of the top 5 firm’s by at least $225,000.

“We are proud of our consistent recognition among the area’s largest brokerage firms and extend a congratulations to all the firm’s that made this year’s list,” said Jennifer Johnsen, Vice President of Brand Development. “Our brokers work tirelessly and this is ultimately an acknowledgement of their achievements."

The feature was opposite an RSIR spread that reads, “We Are. | Change Agents” and describes the firm’s commitment to industry innovation, extraordinary marketing prowess and broker servicing that befits a global company. It also makes note of the new and improved rsir.com, RSIR’s Asia Services Group, and the firm's over $2 billion in marketing sales experience for new construction.

As Dean Jones, Owner & CEO of RSIR previously said of the “change agent” philosophy, “Our brand is creating a positive disruption in the industry and our brokers are increasingly change agents in their respective markets. We observe a unique added-value, full-service business model that’s being endorsed by our brokers and consumers alike.”

High Median Home Prices in King County Prompt Spike in Condo Sales; Values

Appreciation in Downtown Seattle 2015 is Greater Than the Top 100 Global Cities

According to the latest figures released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) in February 2016, King County posted a new record high for median home prices at $515,600– increasing by nearly 19 percent over the prior year. And condo prices in the area increased even more countywide, rising 26 percent with a median price of $343,975. That means that Washington’s most populous county has officially recovered from its prior 2007 peak pricing when the Great Recession corrected home prices. Yet in some close-in markets near jobs and lifestyle attractions, home prices are rising even faster. In the 2015 Year in Review Report released by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty(RSIR), which compared the full year with the prior year, it was noted that West Bellevue posted 17.6 percent gains at$1.08M last year and Downtown Seattle surpassed all with increases of more than 30 percent year-over-year at$561,000.

“If ranked as a micro market, Downtown Seattle actually eclipsed the top 100 global cities for median home price appreciation in 2015,” said Dean Jones, President and CEO of RSIR. “While we haven’t officially made the list among global cities yet, we’re certainly on our way.”

Jones points to the recent Knight Frank Wealth Report, which recognized Vancouver, BC as the top global city posting a meteoric 24.5% median home price increase – other leading cities with double-digit appreciation included Sydney, Shanghai, Melbourne, San Francisco and Auckland. Among the 34 cities where real estate prices fell in 2015, the majority (22) were in Europe, highlighting the economic woes of the region.

“A clear trend among these top Pacific Rim cities is the rising demand from foreign nationals, most commonly from China and throughout Asia,” adds Jones. “When prices grow this quickly, it’s not just expanding jobs and incomes – housing has become a safety deposit box for a flight of international capital.”

In January, the Seattle Times released an article entitled “High-end Home Sales Booming as Tech Execs, Foreign Buyers Shell Out Millions” in which RSIR provided data suggesting that Chinese investment was among the largest stimulants of luxury home sales increases in 2015. It’s a theme that Jones and others believe will continue to propagate in 2016.

But it’s not just foreign buyers driving up the market locally – there is population growth as a lot of inbound residents are coming into King County too. According to the yearend report issued by theWashington State Department of Licensing, King County welcomed 71,383 new drivers to the region and 14,792 of them came from California – the largest producer of new residents to the region followed by Texas (4,227) and Oregon (3,489).

“Our economy offers a tremendous bounty of jobs and despite the rising housing prices, we are still relatively affordable and we have no state income taxes,” adds Jones. “Most new residents will rent for a few years until they get settled in the market but we believe a rising percentage of them will look to buy, which is why we believe developers are increasingly exploring condominium development again.”

RSIR predicted the condo comeback in June of 2015 when they released research and a special insert in thePuget Sound Business Journal called the “Manhattanization of Seattle” found here >>

Interestingly, in 2015 more new residents arrived in King County from key Asian countries (3,585) than from the neighboring state of Oregon. The Asian countries were India (1,592), Korea (731), China (692), Taiwan (418) and Japan (152).

Realogics Sotheby's International Realty Presents the Market Report: Puget Sound Real Estate Trends; 2015 Year in Review

Realogics Sotheby's International Realty (RSIR) presents the Market Report: Puget Sound Real Estate Trends & 2015 Year in Review,  a comprehensive look at the 2015 real estate market in an exploration of seven key counties of Western Washington: King, Snohomish, Kitsap, Pierce, Jefferson and Island counties, as well as 29 neighborhoods for our current and prospective clients. The report touches on macroeconomic trends, the primary demand drivers influencing our regional real estate market in addition to micro markets that vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood.

The year 2015 witnessed white-hot real estate conditions throughout the Puget Sound not seen since before the Great Recession. Prices of real estate throughout the Puget Sound catapulted higher in 2015, the result of tight supply and an influx of new buyers. A similar trajectory is expected in 2016: expanding demand, anemic supply and developers playing catch up to increasing homeownership levels.

The Puget Sound region has taken a different path from other boomtowns in North America whose economies are based on resource extraction (e.g., oil), financial intermediation, or entertainment. Seattle’s aerospace industry has gradually yielded its eminence to the service expansion and new product development cycles of the information tech industry and their secondary employment effects on IT contractors, food & beverage businesses, and real estate developers.

Besides drawing new residents domestically from other U.S. states, the Puget Sound benefits from the state’s importance as a gateway to trade with Asia, as well as from international air travel to and from Sea-Tac International Airport. The Sound’s proximity to international communities across the broader region from Vancouver, British Columbia to Los Angeles and San Diego is also a factor, as is the superior quality of life in the region and its comparative affordability in respect to those other markets. The international eminence that results from these features of our local economy has allowed the area to attract growing numbers of immigrants from overseas and recognition as a global gateway city.

As always, for the most current market information around the corner or around the world, reach out to one of RSIR’s Global Real Estate Advisors by visiting www.RSIR.com.