The Seattle housing market has taken some interesting turns just over the last 3 to 6 months. January was a great month but things started to slow down as we head into February. Will it remain that way? Probably not since rates are extremely low and were actually heading into one of the busier seasons. I think January was a surprisingly busy season for the Seattle area and our multiple listing service reported an 80% reduction in total active listings from the same time in 2019. This naturally means that inventory is down, competition is up, it’s a seller’s market, and because interest rates are low, buyers still benefit. This is a great combination.
Some economists predict that there’s going to be less competition for certain opportunities of housing, spring but that remains to be seen. In King County, prices were down nearly 3% over the last couple of months but pending sales rose almost 10%, which means that more of the homes that have been on the market is now under contract. And, this means that there’s probably a good supply of homebuyers in the Puget Sound area.
The Seattle area is constantly promoting new jobs and that also means in the Bellevue and Eastside area as well. With rates still extremely low, a variety of homes on the market, and competition abounding, the spring buying season looks positive. Most people assume that home prices will remain fairly stable throughout this year and single-family home purchases are outperforming condo sales on the I-5 corridor between Puget Sound and Portland.
So what does all this mean? Clearly, the Seattle housing market for homebuyers and real estate investors is one of the strongest in the nation and has been for quite some time. There’s been a slight dip in the median rent throughout the metro area, but this only draws more people in. If rents and home prices remain too high, people will continue to look outside the city causing more issues for our traffic.
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