By Erin Flemming

Special to the Reporter

While the sunny days of summer — and the heightened real estate action that comes with the season — are now over, the residential real estate market in Bothell and Kenmore shows some positive signs.

According to statistics from Trendgraphix, the number of new listings, homes sold and homes that went under contract in September are all akin to numbers from August. Kenmore statistics tell a different story when comparing the number of homes sold and gone under contract in the month of September versus August. The number of sold homes in September went down by 38.1 percent, yet the number of homes that went under contract nearly doubled — in other words, the number of homes that closed decreased, yet the sales activity during the month was lively compared to the month prior.

Mona Spencer, branch manager for John L. Scott’s Redmond office, said buyers and sellers should be cognizant of current market conditions for the best chance at success. She said brokers in her office are seeing homes with deferred maintenance that are also overpriced and un-staged sit on the market for quite some time without getting any offers. Making these mistakes when listing a home puts more negotiation power in buyers’ hands as the home sits on the market, she added.

“Competition in our area has slowed down since the same time last year. Last year, most offers faced competition,” said Spencer. “I am currently seeing less competition than last year but well-priced homes in great locations can still garner more than one offer. The winning offer is often still the one that is above the list price with waiver of contingencies.”

Looking ahead, John L. Scott Redmond broker Angelina Wallent said sales activity may pick up in the month of October.

“A couple months ago, Seattle was the only major market showing negative year over year returns but the latest data shows that now we’re up a bit, suggesting that the dip was a blip,” said Wallent. “I expect that in October, motivated buyers and sellers will try to wrap things up before the holidays and before daylight savings time ends, resulting in a burst of activity.”

Citing tariffs and other current events on a national scale, some see a potential for instability in the current economic climate, which could impact the housing market. However, a report from the Associated Press cited a recent bump in home sales as a “sign of U.S. consumers’ resilience despite a darkening outlook for growth.”