After 20 months of leading the nation in home price growth, Seattle Times reports that the Evergreen state now trails behind Nevada in year-over-year price gains, though—to the chagrin of buyers everywhere—it’s not “because homes here have suddenly become cheap.” As of June 2018, prices across the state as a whole grew 12.1% compared to this same time last year, down slightly from the 12.8 percent increases reported in May. Many of the region’s markets saw a deceleration of at least 1 percent from May to June, including Seattle, Bellingham, Mount Vernon/Anacortes and Bremerton/Silverdale, among others.
Though the Seattle-area real estate market has decidedly been in favor of sellers for the past couple of years, buyers felt a bit of relief in July, as inventory increased for the third consecutive month. As Puget Sound Business Journal reports, the median sales price for July 2018 was up just 5-percent on a year-over-year basis, a stark decline from the 18-percent surge from the spring sales season. The root cause comes down to inventory, as there were just over 5,000 homes and condominiums available for sale last month, marking “a remarkable 48 percent more than July 2017.” After three months of inventory gains, supply is now higher than it’s been since early 2015.
As a recent Seattle Times article proclaims, “Sound Transit rail stations could help solve our housing crisis,” as each new LINK light rail station will afford the opportunity “to create vibrant, walkable mixed-use communities with significant amounts of new housing and reduced dependence on automobiles.” The $60 billion investment in improving transit and building new infrastructure to support the expanding light rail system marks the largest transit investment in the history of our region, and as the Times points out, “by 2040 we will have light rail connecting Everett to Tacoma and Seattle to Redmond and Issaquah,” which will provide unprecedented and seamless connections around the Seattle metro region.
The Seattle area real estate market is in dire need of home inventory and some relief has come for buyers, as the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported that real estate brokers added 14,524 new listings to the market in May, which was the first time this figure has topped 14,000 since May 2008.
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service released statistics from May 2018 and revealed that for the first time since 2008, over 14,000 new listings came onto the market, revealing a rare inventory increase in an area increasingly marked by a lack of inventory amidst rising demand. As the report reads, “total active listings snapped a streak of 44 months of negative numbers during May when the year-over-year comparison showed an increase of 3.8 percent.”
Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s acclaimed Research Editor and Data Analyst, William Hillis, has assembled a year-over-year review of eight key counties and 29 regional markets around the Puget Sound. In addition to in-depth market analysis, the report includes the “Condominium Conundrum,” Seattle’s stellar performance on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the effects of Chinese capital controls and Canada’s restrictions on foreign buyers, landmark sales on the Eastside, and more. I have compiled a selection of key highlights including trends to watch, to spark a conversation so we may outline the implication for homes in your city.
llowing the announcement that British Columbia is increasing their foreign buyer tax on home purchases from the current rate of 15-percent up to 20-percent, King 5 News reported that the move “may create more demand from wealthy Chinese investors and homebuyers who are looking to purchase property in Washington state.” Adding to demand amidst anemic inventory supply, particularly in downtown Seattle condominium stock, however, is causing some worry.
We are just weeks from the start of 2018 and as we move closer to the start of the New Year, experts are making their predictions about what to expect in the next twelve months. In anticipation of their upcoming “Seattle Forecast Event” in January, Bisnow outlined a few Seattle trends we’ll expect to see in the coming year.
The Eastside has made numerous headlines in recent weeks, from median home prices that continue to skyrocket, to Microsoft’s major announcement of an expansion and renovation at its Redmond campus.
