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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, August 7, 2008 Snohomish County home sales stronger in July By Mike Benbow Herald Writer Home sales in Snohomish County appeared to improve in July as sales and prices were both stronger than they were in June, according to numbers from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The combined median price for condominiums and single-family homes in July was $332,500, or $3,000 more than what homes sold for in June. That $332,500 figure was 4.52 percent less than prices were a year ago. In June, the median price had fallen 7.2 percent from the year-ago figures. Median means that half the homes cost more and half cost less. July sales in the county amounted to 719 homes, or 20 fewer than the amount sold in June. But June sales amounted to a 47 percent drop from the previous year, while the July number was a 43 percent from a year ago because sales are typically stronger in June than in July. Inventories for both months were similar, with more than 7,000 homes on the market. The numbers were lower than real estate agents had hoped. But the single-digit changes in home values remain lower than in most areas of the country. "Considering the market adjustment because of the subprime mess, we're doing better than expected," said Dick Beeson, owner of Windermere/Commencement Associates in Tacoma. J. Lennox Scott, chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate, said President Bush's recent signing of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act is just one more reason to buy a house. The legislation should help people prevent foreclosure and to help homes appreciate and stabilize the housing market. Scott Jarvis, director of the state Department of Financial Institutions, said now is a good time to buy a home because long-term mortgage rates are attractive, prices in Washington are relatively stable and there are good financing options "for people with reasonably good credit."

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