One neighborhood that doesn’t get a lot of attention in Bellevue is Enatai.  To Enatai’s defense, it’s contending with the likes of luxury homes for sale in Medina and Clyde Hill.  In recent months, we may be seeing a turn upward for homes for sale in Enatai with one caveat: luxury homes for sale in Enatai are continuing to struggle.

Dismal Look for Homes in Enatai

This shouldn’t be a surprise to other Bellevue luxury owners as high-end buyers above the $3 million mark have been few and far between.  Looking at Enatai real estate as a whole, the ratio of sold to list price has decreased by 2.2% from the previous quarter in 2011.

These values may have dropped as desperate sellers become more willing to part with their homes.  For instance, the cumulative days on market (CDOM) has increased by 23% and is reflective of sellers inability to find buyers who are willing to pay anywhere close to the asking price.

 

	Curnt vs. Prev Month			Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago			Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago
	Apr. 12	Mar. 12	% Change	Apr. 12	Apr. 11	% Change	Feb. 12 to Apr. 12	Feb. 11 to Apr. 11	% Change
Avg CDOM	160	151	6%	160	107	49.5%	147	119	23.5%
Sold/Orig LP Diff. %	96	84	14.3%	96	85	12.9%	90	92	-2.2%

When we focus on homes for sale in Enatai under $1 million, the housing market looks much better.  The ratio of sales to list price has increased by 3.2% for these homes from last year’s 1st quarter.  As most buyers are sticking to this price range, seller’s are finding more flexibility in waiting on higher offers.

Not all of this lower-priced real estate in Enatai is performing well, however.  The average CDOM increased by 97.1% as some homes aren’t able to sell.  We see this with homes that are priced incorrectly as well as homes that are not marketed appropriately for buyers.  As a seller in Enatai, this should be good news as many owners are receiving 95% or higher for their asking price.

	Curnt vs. Prev Month			Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago			Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago
	Apr. 12	Mar. 12	% Change	Apr. 12	Apr. 11	% Change	Feb. 12 to Apr. 12	Feb. 11 to Apr. 11	% Change
Avg CDOM	6	123	-95.1%	6	36	-83.3%	67	34	97.1%
Sold/Orig LP Diff. %	102	94	8.5%	102	95	7.4%	96	93	3.2%

Some Luxury Homes for Sale in Enatai are Struggling

While there have been pockets of success for million dollar homes in Enatai, several properties have been pulling down the local market.  The ratio of sales price to list price has not changed since the first quarter of 2011; not great news when you think about the 2011 housing market.  Don’t be misled by the +40.9% from April of 2011 to 2012 as the data set in Enatai is too small to use this metric.  For example, there are currently 21 homes for sale Enatai and doing any analysis requires looking at an entire quarter to pull a conclusion.

In some cases with Enatai, we’re looking at luxury sellers parting with their homes for 76% and 66% of the asking price.  Although we can think of the luxury housing market as distinct from that of lower-priced homes, this cut in price does have a ripple effect on the rest of the community.

	Curnt vs. Prev Month			Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago			Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago
	Apr. 12	Mar. 12	% Change	Apr. 12	Apr. 11	% Change	Feb. 12 to Apr. 12	Feb. 11 to Apr. 11	% Change
Avg CDOM	365	290	25.9%	365	320	14.1%	346	290	19.3%
Sold/Orig LP Diff. %	93	76	22.4%	93	66	40.9%	89	89	0%

What Values do Enatai Home Buyers Consider a Good Investment?

When we look at the average sales price for homes for sale in Enatai, we’ll see that buyers are averaging between the $500,000 and $950,000 range.  There are some outliers in March and September of 2011 as high-end real estate pulled these numbers higher.

In fact, the average sales price compared to the 1st quarter of 2011 has dropped by 25.3%.  We’re seeing buyers migrate to lower price points as the housing market recovers.  This trend stems from buyers perception that a lower priced home in a luxury neighborhood will yield a greater return on investment (ROI) when the market rebounds.

Unfortunately, this suppresses the recovery as buyers are unwilling to purchase homes that will raise the overall value of the neighborhood.  One response we’re seeing from sellers in this higher price point is to remove their homes from the market.  As a result, these sellers are engendering demand in higher-end homes and artificially raising prices.

	Curnt vs. Prev Month			Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago			Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago
	Apr. 12	Mar. 12	% Change	Apr. 12	Apr. 11	% Change	Feb. 12 to Apr. 12	Feb. 11 to Apr. 11	% Change
Avg. Active Price	1530	1368	11.8%	1530	1353	13.1%	1456	1372	6.1%
Avg. Sold Price	876	1034	-15.3%	876	940	-6.8%	948	1268	-25.2%

Future for Homes for Sale in Enatai?

It’s difficult to pinpoint the direction of real estate in Enatai.  I would argue that we’ll see the same pattern in 2012 that we saw in 2011.  However, a lower amount of inventory in Enatai could trigger a higher demand and resultant increase in prices.

The current months of inventory is 3, down 55.6% from the first quarter of 2011.  This drastic decrease could put a strain on lower priced homes and benefit the middle of the road homes – idling at $1-1.5 million.

	Curnt vs. Prev Month			Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago			Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago
	Apr. 12	Mar. 12	% Change	Apr. 12	Apr. 11	% Change	Feb. 12 to Apr. 12	Feb. 11 to Apr. 11	% Change
Months of Inventory (Closed Sales)	3	3.7	-18.2%	3	7.8	-61.3%	4	9	-55.6%

Related posts:

• Trulia Price Monitor For Seattle, Fact or Fiction?