Seattle home prices post nation's biggest drop
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Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios
Seattle-area housing prices are falling, and inventory is rising faster than anywhere else in the U.S., further evidence that the region's once red-hot market may be cooling.
Why it matters: The Seattle housing market's rapid shift marks a sharp reversal from the region's pandemic-era bidding wars, soaring prices and limited inventory.
By the numbers: Seattle-area single-family home prices fell 2.5% year over year in March, the largest decline among major metros tracked by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index.
- Active inventory in the Seattle metro rose 39% from a year earlier in April — the largest year-over-year increase among U.S. metros, according to the latest REMAX National Housing Report.
- New listings increased 14.5%, while homes spent an average of 51 days on the market — five days longer than last year, per REMAX.
Between the lines: "The Seattle market started late this year compared to typical seasonal trends," John Manning, managing broker at REMAX Gateway, told Axios. He added that higher interest rates have helped cool prices, even as inventory has grown.
What they're saying: More homes are hitting the market than buyers are willing to absorb at current prices, according to Seattle-area real estate agent Chris Reis of Pacific Northwest Residences at Compass.
- "Buyers are still buying. They're just no longer willing to overpay," Reis told Realtor.com.
Zoom in: The trend is even more pronounced in some parts of King County with active listings on the Eastside jumping about 43% year over year in April and prices dropping 3.78%, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data.
The big picture: America's housing market is increasingly a tale of two markets.
- National home prices rose 0.7% year over year in March, according to the Case-Shiller Index.
- But more than half of the 20 major metros tracked posted annual price declines, a sign of a "broadening and deepening housing slowdown," according to Nicholas Godec of S&P Dow Jones Indices.
- While Midwest and Northeast cities continued to gain ground — led by Chicago (+6.1%) and New York (+4%) — many Western and Sun Belt markets remained in retreat, with prices falling from Denver to Phoenix to Los Angeles.
Yes, but: Despite the drop, the Seattle metro remains the country's fourth-priciest housing market, with a median home sale price of $735,375, per REMAX's April housing report.
The bottom line: Seattle's housing market is becoming less frenzied, even if it's still out of reach for many buyers.