Seattle home prices may cool in 2023

Local experts predict 2023 will bring lower home prices to the Seattle-area market.

Here's what they're saying.

1. Houses will flood the market this spring.

Inventory in King County is expected to be "higher than we've seen over the past three years," Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Seattle-based Windermere Real Estate, tells Axios.

J. Lennox Scott, CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, forecasts a peak of new inventory during the pre-summer months of May and June.

2. Home buyers will have more leverage.

Gardner predicts home prices will continue to slow following the frenetic markets of 2020 and 2021.

"With inflation starting to cool, mortgage rates are modestly pulling back, which is good news for home buyers," Gardner says.

Buyers can expect a wider selection of homes to choose from, plus fewer multiple-offer situations with premium pricing, Scott says.

3. Mortgage rates will still pose a challenge.

Those buyers who do get in the market will have more negotiation power. But high interest rates and other economic factors may chill demand, says John Manning, managing broker at RE/MAX Gateway.

"At the same time, homeowners that purchased or refinanced in recent years will be less likely to sell, with many opting to hang onto their low mortgage rates," Manning tells Axios.