Short-Sale mania in the heart of Bellevue.

I was doing a project for a client and discovered some interesting information. I was looking at real estate from $900k-$1.5m between 520 & I-90 and 405 to the lake. I pulled what had sold and which properties had received offers on them since May 1, 2009. 64% of the 22 homes that are in the Pending status were Short-Sales (SS) or Bank-Owned. Of those 26 that closed since May 1, 12 were SS or Bank-Owned. Since these properties were selling between 10-20% less than the asking price it is making it harder for those sellers whose homes are not financially distressed to compete in the market place. I pulled the same criteria for the Seattle/Capitol Hill area and found no SS. Probably because Bellevue has a lot more new construction and Capitol Hill is pretty built out. There are still more SS homes on the market and I'm hoping they all get sold quickly.