What was the hottest price range of the week in Bellevue and Redmond?

This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc.,using MLS data0 to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.

Here’s how it’s set up:

The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range. 

• Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
• Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
• Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.

Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.

Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.

If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in East Bellevue and Redmond, near Microsoft.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take 4.9 months to sell all of the homes in the $400-499,999 price range.

The last section shows the 7 week average of each category, the number of homes for sale, the number sold, and the months supply.

The color yellow, which stands for a balanced market between buyers and sellers,  has been few and far between on these charts.  It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen a balanced real estate market anywhere. Most columns have been green, marked with a buyers’ advantage, for a very long time. It’s been an even longer time since we’ve seen so much read, a buyer’s market, too.

Week of June 3rd, 2009:

Hottest price range for the week: $300-399,999.

• Most number of home sales $300-399,999, 8 homes sold
• Most number of homes for sale $400-499,999  74 homes for sale.

Week of May 27th, 2009

Hottest price range for the week.: $400-499,999

• Most number of home sales:  $400-499,999  5 homes sold. 
• Most number of homes for sale:  $400-499,999  66 homes for sale.

Week of May 20th, 2009

Hottest price range of the week: $500-599,950

• Most number of home sales:  $500-599,999 6 homes sold.
• Most number of homes for sale: $400-499,950  66 homes for sale.

You might assume the least expensive price range has the most activity every week, but that’s not the case as shown by the real estate sales in Bellevue and Redmond over the last few weeks.  It’s safe to say, most home sales in Bellevue and Redmond are happening under $500,000 and definitely below $600,000.  Since the week of April 27th, only two homes have sold above $1,000,000. Interestingly, there were four homes that sold between $900-999,999.  These were new construction homes with prices above the $1 million mark.  The prices were dropped below $1,000,000 and these homes then sold.  Since there aren’t a lot of homes for sale in this price range, when one sells, the price range becomes a sellers’ market.  Clearly, the $300-399,999 is more of a seller’s market than any of the other price ranges.    Every one of the  price ranges has flipped back and forth between seller, buyer or a balanced market over the last seven weeks.

It will be interesting to see what develops over the next few weeks as I’m seeing more homes come up for sale in Bellevue and Redmond.  I expect it to continue to be very competitive with most of the home sales falling below $500,000. What do you predict?