42 homes added to market in 3 weeks

Reporter staff

For those able to pay $1 million or more for a home, it is a good time to shop on Mercer Island. There are 60 homes for sale on the Island in that price range.

Of the 154 single-family homes on the market on the Island, 42 homes have been added since March 1 and more than a dozen single-family homes were added in the last week. Two homes are listed at prices in excess of $35 million. Less than 30 percent of the homes for sale are under $1 million. A 1,300-square-foot log home built in 1950 near Groveland Beach Park is offered at the lowest price, $650,000.

Nineteen condos are for sale on the market. They range in price from just over $1 million for a three-bedroom, three-bath condo with northern views of Lake Washington and downtown Bellevue. The least expensive condo is a studio unit near the town center, offered for sale at $185,000.

The number of listings are up a third from a month ago, but sales were slow. According to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, just 101 homes and condos were for sale in February 2007. Nine homes sold last month, down from 20 sold a year ago. Prices for the nine homes that sold in February were down nearly 25 percent from homes sold a year ago. There were 18 condominiums on the market last month, but there were zero pending sales and zero closed sales for the month. In 2007, there were three pending and five closed sales.

As of March 23, there were 154 single-family homes and 19 condominiums for sale on Mercer Island.

Of the single-family homes for sale, 10 are listed at $5 million and above. Thirty homes are listed for prices between $2 and $4 million, and 60 homes are offered between $1 and $2 million. Less than 30 percent of the Island real estate market is for homes priced below $1 million.