Sales of waterfront homes in Issaquah were up more than one fifth in 2011, signalling a strengthening of the market for Issaquah waterfront homes.

A total of 28 homes were sold on waterfront property in Issaquah in the past year, five more than in 2010.  Also significantly up were the number of high-end, luxury waterfront homes.

Ten million-dollar-plus homes were sold in 2011, including four multi-million dollar waterfront homes.  This was more than double the four million-dollar homes sold in 2010.

Source: NWMLS Data – This information was not compiled or published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Waterfront home sales in King County and most of the Eastside have been rising steadily for the past couple of years.  Kirkland’s waterfront real estate sales, in particular, have gotten a big boost.

After 38 Kirkland waterfront homes were sold in 2010, that number jumped to 48 during 2011.  The increase of 26% was one of the biggest in the greater Seattle region.  Not only did the total number of sales increase, but the highest-end home sales were also up significantly.

Many cities saw a drop in their million-dollar and multi-million-dollar home sales recently due to the lack of luxury home buyers.  Kirkland’s sales of waterfront homes over $1 million in 2011 almost doubled, from 12 sales to 20 sales.  Multi-million dollar waterfront home sales rose from 5 closings in 2010 to 7 in 2011.  The market for waterfront homes in the city of Kirkland seems to be heating up even more quickly than the rest of the strengthening luxury real estate market in King County.

Source: NWMLS Data – This information was not compiled or published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Source: NWMLS Data – This information was not compiled or published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Sales of waterfront homes in Seattle were up 2.91 percent in 2011, according to statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.  While waterfront sales have been steadily increasing for the past couple of years, the continued resurgence of this market is another strong driver of confidence for real estate investors in the Seattle area.

2011 statistics showed 672 sales of Seattle waterfront homes during the full year of 2011.   This is in comparison to 653 waterfront homes sold in the city in 2010.  Sales of houseboats and waterfront houses of every size and category continued to surprise real estate investors throughout 2011, even as the economy as a whole maintained its flat course.

Some analysts point to a loosening of jumbo and super-jumbo mortgage lending as helping the higher-end real estate market recover in recent months.  Luxury home financing has certainly played a part, but even the large number of all-cash transactions on the waterfront have increased, leading many to believe that investors have “called the bottom” and are finding that real estate is one of the safest bets for their money in the current economic environment.

Source: NWMLS Data – This information was not compiled or published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service