Leavenworth Real Estate – First Quarter 2009 : Market Update
Looks like you get your choice of headlines for the latest in Leavenworth real estate news:
Leavenworth Home Sales Drop 60%!
Leavenworth Home Prices Plateau!
Leavenworth Home Prices Up 7%!
Leavenworth Real Estate Investments Trounce Wall Street!
Is your glass half full? Photo by Jesie Hart
It appears as though the trends we have been seeing for the last year or so, are continuing. The number of homes selling in Leavenworth is down (dramatically this quarter), but prices are holding steady. The average Leavenworth home price is actually down 2% (to $413,000 from $420,000) but median prices in Leavenworth are up 7% (to $420,000 from $390,000).
This chart has been replaced. Please see my update, posted below.
The sales prices are certainly coming at bigger discounts compared to the list prices. Last year the sales prices were 95% of list, this year they have dropped to 91%. (And this is off the most recent list price, not the original list price, or the list price that the first agent had listed the home for.) I think this says something about the pervasive overpricing in the Leavenworth area. In Wenatchee and East Wenatchee prices are staying at 97% of list prices and at 96% in Cashmere.
I spoke with an escrow agent in Leavenworth about the market and she said she currently only has 1 pending sale scheduled to close in April. (This includes condos and land sales as well.) Discussing pricing with her – while we haven’t seen any reductions in selling prices, it sure looks like we will need to, if sellers want to sell their houses.
Related News
Leavenworth Condo Update Spring 2009
Leavenworth Homes Sold in March 2009
2008 Leavenworth Real Estate Review
2008 Leavenworth Q1 Real Estate Report
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Update May 4 , 2009
Thanks to Mark who pointed out a few errors in my chart and asked some great questions. Here is the real chart that should have been included.
Leavenworth Real Estate 2009
As you can see, the average price has been higher than the median in most years during Q1. In 2009, the median caught up which may indicate softness in both the extremes of the market – the high end and the low end properties.
Mark certainly had the “takeaway” right – Leavenworth prices appear to be flat over the last year. I never thought I would think that “flat” was a good thing, but watching the Seattle real estate market and the stock market over the past year, I think many of us are happy to not have seen depreciation.
Mark was surprised to see the dip in 2007. Remember this is just for the 1st Quarter. By the time 2007 was over, both median and average home prices in Leavenworth had gone up 18% over 2006.
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Required Disclaimer
NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.
