With more houses on the market and sales prices rising, the housing market is “definitely in full recovery mode” in the Puget Sound area, a Realtor said Wednesday.

The median price of King County houses and condos that sold in January was nearly $364,900, or 17 percent higher than in January 2013, according to the latest report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Median sale prices in Pierce and Snohomish counties rose 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

“We are finally going to be looking at the ‘housing crisis’ in the rear view mirror,” said Mike Gain, CEO and president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate. “In 2014 we are definitely in full recovery mode.”

The inventory of residences on the market, while improving, continues to be a source of worry, he said.

“Lots of buyers and not enough of the right inventory to satisfy our buyers’ wants and needs,” was how Gain described current conditions. “Following the worst year for inventory I have seen in my 35 years of practicing real estate locally, we are expecting the number of homes for sale to increase in 2014.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2014/02/05/puget-sound-home-prices-up-as-much-as.html