-->Home sales soar 25 percent in rush to beat rising rates

By Kristina Shevory
Times Eastside business reporter



Rising mortgage rates sent Western Washington home buyers scrambling last month to beat the increases, boosting sales in July and signaling a sizzling August.
Compared with July 2002, closed sales last month jumped 36 percent in King County and 18.2 percent in Snohomish County, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported yesterday. In the 14 counties tracked, closed sales rose more than 25 percent, and pending sales soared 39 percent.

Pending sales — in which offers have been made and accepted but sales haven't closed — were higher in July than in any other month since the listing service began tracking home sales in 1984.

If July's sales all close in August, this month could be even stronger.

"People are jumping back into the market because interest rates are going up," said Susan Hayes, managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate's Federal Way office."They've been waiting until they can get the absolute best rate possible."