Yesterday the Seattle Times ran an article on local area home sales based on the March statistics from the Northwest MLS.

The story headline proclaims that home sales volumes are down dramatically while the prices are holding. That is true when compared to last year. But, I think by now that everyone knows that this year is not last year. We know we are slower since last year. I think that it is equally important to look at how the month of March compares to the month of February.

So, here are the February and March figures for Single Family Residences in King County.

	February	March	% Change
Number of Homes Sold	1148	1503	30.92%
Average Price	$  531,448.00	$  539,733.00	1.56%
Median Price	$  429,900.00	$  439,900.00	2.33%
Average Time on Market	81	78	-3.70%

It is a slight case of comparing apples to oranges to compare two different months to each other. Real estate is a cyclical market and clearly some months do better than others. But, I just think to be fair that we should understand how the market has changed not just from last year but from last month.

With that in mind, this chart is all good news. Home sales are up 30%. Average home prices are up 1.5%. Median  prices (half the houses are above and half are below) are up 2.3%. Time on market is down 3.7%. That is a good month to month change any time of year.

Personally, I think the increase in the volume is the most important news here. I am less concerned with the selling prices. The selling price will always vary. But to see the volumes pick up again is a good thing. t will prevent our unsold inventory from climbing too high. It will keep the prices from falling too far. And, it shows hope and an understanding that despite the bad news the media outlets focus on that people will always need a house to live in and that now is a great time to buy one!

-Chris