Report: Seattle-area home prices fall with the country's
By AUBREY COHEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

The U.S. and Seattle-area housing markets remained weak in September, according to a widely watched report released Tuesday.

The price of a typical house in the Seattle area, defined as King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, was down 2.6 percent in September from a year earlier and a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent from August, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices reported. S&P's 20-city index was up 0.6 percent from a year earlier -- driven by increases in just five areas -- but down a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent from August.

S&P's U.S. National Home Price Index declined 2 percent from the second quarter to the third, with prices down 1.5 percent from a year earlier.

"Another weak report; weaker than last month," David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's Index Committee, said in a news release. "Other than Tampa, Fla., there are no new lows this month but many analysts will argue that a double dip will be confirmed before spring."

The end of the government's homebuyer tax credit weakened the market this fall, but isn't the only factor at work, Blitzer said.

"The national economy is certainly the No. 1 issue for housing. Additionally, there is a large supply of houses on the market and further, hidden supply due to delinquent mortgages, pending foreclosures or vacant homes. New construction is running at less than half the pace needed to meet normal demand, so a sustained recovery could be a ways off."

Seattle ranked 11th out of the 20 areas in the index for annual change. San Francisco and San Diego topped the list, with increases of 5.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Chicago had the biggest decline, 5.6 percent.

Seattle ranked seventh for seasonally adjusted monthly change. Changes ranged from an increase of 0.05 percent in Washington, D.C., to a 2.2 percent decline in Minneapolis.

The S&P index gauges the value of a typical house by looking at repeat sales of the same houses, rather than whatever happens to sell in a given month. It does not list prices.

The median house sales price in King County was $375,000 in October, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier and 1.3 percent from September, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service's latest report.

Aubrey Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8362 or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com. Follow Aubrey on Twitter at twitter.com/realestatepi.






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