Washington housing market improves in second quarter of 2014

University of Washington - Washington state's housing market rebounded from its first quarter performance, as the annual rate of existing home sales rose 6.4 percent in the second quarter of 2014. While the increase from the first to the second quarter is notable, year-over-year sales activity is still down across the state, according to the second quarter housing report from the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies  at the University of Washington. As measured on a seasonally adjusted basis, the home sales are on pace to total about 86,690 for the 2014 calendar year. "While most economic statistics are reported at seasonally adjusted annual rates, these are not forecasts of future activity,” said Stephen O'Connor, Runstad Center director. "Nevertheless, at the current pace of sales we're looking at a 7.5 percent decline in sales activity from the second quarter in 2013. Statewide, the median home sales price increased 7.9 percent from the same time last year and now stands at $270,900, up nearly 9 percent from the first quarter. While the transition from the winter to the spring selling season is almost always a contributing factor, so is the lingering lack of supply, O'Connor said.