Price of homes in region still down
The median price of closed house and condo sales in King County was down nearly 2.9 percent to $340,000, compared to a year ago. Prices dropped 21 percent on Mercer Island and 17 percent on Auburn's West Hill and Vashon Island.
Prices jumped 13 percent in West Seattle; 10 percent in Redmond; and 9 percent in the Capitol Hill/Madison Park area of Seattle.
Median prices were down nearly 6 and 5 percent in Snohomish and Kitsap counties, respectively, and more than 4 percent in Pierce.
Across the service's 21-county reporting area 9,438 pending sales were logged, a 36 percent increase. Of these mutually accepted offers, 7,368 were in the four-county Puget Sound region — the highest volume since August of 2006. The service credited the surge to the federal home buyer tax credit that expired last week and rising consumer confidence.
