“On a monthly basis, this time of year we see more listing coming on the market than pending sales, and June didn’t disappoint,” says Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. “The increase in the number of new listings last month means more choices and a little breathing room for the backlog of buyers in the cities of Bothell and Kenmore who have been waiting to buy a home.”

According to a JLS press release, for sellers, the market remains at a frenzy level for new listing selling in the first 30 days, and with more new listings coming on the market than pending sales, they need to be market-ready in order to get the best price for their home. But even with an increase in new listings, the total number of homes for sale is down 12.6 percent compared to last year, and new listings are up only slightly at 0.6 percent.

A big story for the Bothell and Kenmore market is that the residential median home price hit $582,000 in June, a 21 percent increase from June of last year’s median of $480,000. And how quickly did homes sell last month? Well, the average “days on the market” was 11 days. It’s no wonder that, even with the influx of new listings, there continues to be a shortage of inventory. All of those new homes are getting snapped up quickly.

Kelly Nutt, manager and owner of JLS Bothell, is excited about the increase in inventory.

“In Bothell we are starting to see more new listings, which is great news!” he said in the release. “This is giving more opportunities for buyers to find their new home. Inventory levels for the past eight months have been between 0.8 months of inventory and one month of inventory. This tells us it is a very strong market for sellers and there are plenty of buyers looking for a home.”

For Puget Sound in general, every season has a story, and this summer it’s all about record sales.

“For the second month in a row we’ve hit a record for monthly pending sales in the four-country area of King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap Counties for residential and condos combined,” the release states. “We had 9,042 pending sales in June, with the runner-up being 8,896 in June of 2005. Strong job growth, price appreciation, and low, amazing interest rates continue to fuel the Puget Sound housing market.”