Most Seattle-area homes lost value this year
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Nearly four out of five homes in the Seattle metro area have lost value in the past year, a much higher share than the national average, according to Zillow data.
The big picture: The widespread drop in Seattle-area home values may offer some relief to struggling buyers, even as local home prices and mortgage rates remain high.
By the numbers: 78.4% of homes in the Seattle metro area were worth less in October than they were a year earlier, according to Zillow's analysis.
- That's compared to 53% of homes nationally.
Yes, but: The typical Seattle-area home value is down only about 1% year-over-year, a "really small" decrease, Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy told Axios.
- Typical home values hovered around $730,000 in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area last month, with higher values estimated within Seattle's city limits, per Zillow.
Between the lines: Rising inventory has contributed to the recent price drops, Divounguy said, noting the number of active listings locally is up 24% year-over-year.
- The flow of buyers hasn't kept pace, he said, partly due to the slowing of the regional labor market.
- The unemployment rate in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area was 4.9% in September, compared to 4.2% a year earlier and under 3% in 2019, per federal data.
- "You might not see people stepping out and saying, 'Hey, I want to buy a house right now, when I'm not quite sure about job prospects,'" Divounguy said.
Reality check: Despite the decline in values, most Seattle-area homeowners "are sitting in a fairly comfortable position," having "accumulated a ton of home equity" as prices rose during the pandemic, Divounguy said.
- As of October, the median Seattle-area home had jumped roughly 81% in value since the property was last sold, per Zillow's data.
- Compared to 2019, fewer homeowners nationwide are "underwater," meaning they owe more money to their lender than the house is worth. Zillow chief economist Mischa Fisher told Axios.
The bottom line: "While fluctuations in home values can distress watchful owners, the vast majority are sitting on large equity gains that they can take advantage of when they sell," Fisher said.