Multiple offers the new normal for Seattle-area housing market

SEATTLE -- If you're putting your house on the market, it's likely that you could be fielding multiple offers.

According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, multiple offers on homes for sale is the new normal in the Puget Sound area.

The median price for single-family homes in King County ranks among the highest in the state at $400,000, the MLS reported. That figure is an increase of 11.1 percent from a year ago when the median price was $360,000.

Snohomish County is also seeing a spike in sales where the median price is now $295,000, up 15.5 percent from a year ago. Brokers are also reporting the highest volume of pending sales since May 2007.

Pierce County home prices continued their upward trend also, the Tacoma News Tribune reported. Sales rose 22.6 percent from April 2012 to last month. Inventory or unoccupied homes fell steeply throughout the year.

Closed sales for April went up about 20 percent and are now outperforming totals from a year ago by close to 3,000 transactions. The MLS believes it is due to lenders easing restraints on loans and fewer short sales being processed. New home construction is also on the rise to meet demand.