The housing market in Seattle continues to grow with demand for apartments and homes increasing despite inflation and rising house prices. Prices have jumped nearly 20% since last year with some homes staying in the market for only six days. Record-breaking sales for last year were experienced in spite of historically low inventory levels. According to industry observers, a balanced market usually has a supply of inventory of up to four to six months. In the case of Seattle, the supply of inventory is low due to the rising prices of homes. This limits who qualifies as a home buyer.
Comparing the Housing Market to Last Year
According to Northwest Multiple Listing Service in King County, the median home price was $880,000 in April 2022. This was a rise of 17.33 percent since 2021. In Pierce County, a home was averaging at a price of $535,000, a rise of 15.8% from the previous year. The average price of a home in Snohomish County was $745,725, a rise of 19.5% from the previous year. In Kitsap County, the homes average $525,000, a rise of 21.3% compared to a year earlier.
However, you can expect the rising prices to stabilize in the near future. The chief economist for First American Financial Corporation, Mark Fleming, predicts that some new housing construction, high prices, and rising mortgage rates could combine to bring some normalcy to the rising prices. Similar predictions were issued by Lawrence Yun, Redfin, and Zillow. The tempering of prices could also be achieved due to the plans by the Fed to raise interest rates. This will make it hard to borrow money for a mortgage in an effort to cool the housing market.
Seattle also recorded immense increases in prices, reaching double-figures. A good example is the impressive garnering of over $1M through sales of single-family homes in April. In terms of supply and demand, Seattle’s housing market is set to become even more unbalanced. Demand is expected to increase with millennials entering the market.
Realty Slowing, but not Stopping
Due to lack of new construction in the market, quick sale of homes in short time periods and low interest rates, you will likely see the growing demand in Seattle continue. What you get to experience is historically low inventory and record-breaking housing prices. Additionally, the housing market in Seattle is driven by employees from enterprises such as Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Most of these people sought to buy homes where they can comfortably work at home causing the competition to rise, and consequently, home selling prices rising.
This ongoing combination of escalating prices and low mortgage rates has made sellers and buyers take advantage of the market. As a seller, you can receive multiple offers while as a buyer you can find homes in excellent condition and affordable prices. You can also have the opportunity to find a home in the suburbs where there’s low population density.
Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet on Unsplash