I just ran some interesting statistics for the King-Snohomish-Pierce county housing market in 2010. As anyone who is active buying in the market knows, a fair number of properties are short sales, and short sales can represent lengthy bank approval processes and delayed closings.
Short Sale Active/Pending Listings – As of June 16, 2010
- King County: 20.0% short sales
- Snohomish County: 24.4% short sales
- Pierce County: 22.6% short sales
Short Sale Closed Listings – Jan 1, 2010 through June 16, 2010
- King County: 9.2% short sales
- Snohomish County: 10.5% short sales
- Pierce County: 11.2% short sales
There is an interesting disparity in the number of active/pending short sales versus the ones that actually are closing, which is not surprising given the difficulty and length of the short sale approval process. The percentage of active short sale listings is roughly double the percentage of transactions that are actually closing. At the same time, clearly quite a few short sales are closing, so it can pay to wade through the process and delays if you find the right property.
