Market highlights for Seattle metro area

Sales of existing homes throughout the U.S. rose 2.3 percent in July from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.47 million, reports the Seattle Times. In the Puget Sound area, sales rose 11 percent in July.

The gains also took place in home prices. The median price of a home sold in King County in July was $249,950, up 6.4 percent from one year ago and up from $245,000 in June, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) statistics. In Snohomish County, the median price of a home sold was $200,500, up 6.1 percent from July 2000, when it was $189,000.

Seattle’s housing market is on the road to recovery, and the residential population is also growing, reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. The city added 620,778 people, marking an increase of 2 percent from 2010 to 2011. The population bump may be driving the city’s rise in dining options. Seattle ranks fifth in the nation for the number of restaurants available to foodies, with 24.9 establishments per 10,000 residents.