Bidding wars pushing Seattle home prices

SEATTLE – Almost 40 percent of homes sold for above list price between April and June in King and Snohomish counties.

Bidding wars are pushing up home prices in many, but not all, Seattle-area neighborhoods, with almost 40 percent of homes selling for above list price between April and June in King and Snohomish counties.

In the second quarter, the Seattle area’s housing market ranked sixth nationally for the share of homes sold above list, the Seattle Times reported in Saturday’s newspaper.

That puts Seattle behind only five places in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.

“There is an intensity in Seattle that’s shared with other high-tech, high-growth cities,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at Redfin.

Bellevue, Issaquah, Newcastle and Kenmore were the only cities in the region where more than half the single-family homes that sold went for above list price. In Seattle, nearly half the homes sold did.

For instance, in Bellevue’s Mockingbird Hill neighborhood, a four-bedroom home near top-ranked Newport High School drew four bids and sold in June for $480,000, or $20,000 over list price.

Sellers fan the flames of competition by listing homes at prices on the lower end of a perceived range, setting a deadline to review multiple offers, and encouraging buyers to waive contingencies.