Seattle's real estate market is "coming back to life"
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With sellers still on the sidelines in the Seattle metro area housing market and buyers coming out of hibernation, demand may be outpacing supply, according to the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report.
- That could lead to sharper price increases in spring after a relative flattening of the market at the end of last year.
Why it matters: Relief from the region's sky-high pandemic home prices was welcomed but may be short-lived, especially with mortgage rates creeping up again.
By the numbers: Based on Redfin data, Seattle's median home sales price was $715,000 in January, up 0.7% from January 2022 and up 1.56% from December.
- The number of homes on the market last month — 2,988 — was down about 16% from the previous month.
- In January, 1,523 Seattle homes were sold, down 33.90% from January of last year.
Zoom in: In Seattle, more homes are now selling below the list price, according to the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report. That puts Seattle in second place in the U.S. for the largest decrease in close-to-list price ratio.
But inventory is down, homes are still expensive and monthly mortgage costs are up after a brief respite last month, according to Zillow's Monthly Housing Report for January. Other Zillow findings:
- The mortgage on a typical home in Seattle with a 20% down payment was $3,346 in January. That's 38% more than a year ago and almost double the $1,848 seen in January 2020.
- New listings were down 32% year over year and it's now taking about 37 days from the time a house is listed until a sale is pending; that’s 32 days longer than it took in January 2022.
Zoom out: Nationally, median home sales prices have crept up 1.3% from one year ago, and sales fell for the 12th month in a row, writes Axios' Brianna Crane and Sami Sparber.
- The national median home sales price in January was $359,000, according to the latest from the National Association of Realtors.
What’s next: Spring, typically marked by higher demand, more competition and steeper home prices, is right around the corner.
- If spring 2023 follows typical trends, we should expect more buyers in the near future.
What they're saying: What happens next will be heavily influenced by mortgage rates, Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker told Axios Seattle.
- "The market is coming back to life," he said. "It's not the crazy frenzy of 2021 and early 2022, but it's not the doldrums of October and November either."