Seattle Home Sales Slow as Prices Rise

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos combined in May was $308,000, up 1% from $305,000 in April but down 10.7% from a year earlier. Last month's median was the highest for any month since last December, when it was $318,000, but was 15.7% lower than the Seattle area's peak $365,200 median in June 2007.

The median has fallen on a year-over-year basis for 16 straight months.

The median's modest increase in May from April is likely the result of a lower concentration of foreclosure resales in May, combined with a mild rise in the portion of sales occurring above $300,000. That's consistent with the expected seasonal increase in the number of traditional homebuyers - including move-up buyers - who are looking not just for a bargain but for the right house in the right neighborhood, and who want to move before school starts in late summer.

The median paid for resale single-family detached houses was $307,000 last month, down 13.5% from a year ago and down 22.2% from the $394,500 peak in June 2007.

Another price measure for resale single-family detached houses, the median price paid per square foot, rose a tad from April, when it was $167, to $169 in May. That was the highest since it was $179 last December but was still down 23% from May 2008 and down 29.7% from the peak $240 median paid per square foot in July 2007. The price per square foot has fallen on a year-over-year basis for 19 consecutive months.