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Western Washington Real Estate Market Update
The following analysis of the Western Washington real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner. We hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact your Windermere agent.
A MESSAGE FROM MATTHEW GARDNER
Needless to say, any discussion about the U.S. economy, state economy, or housing markets in the first quarter of this year is almost meaningless given events surrounding the COVID-19 virus.
Although you will see below data regarding housing activity in the region, many markets came close to halting transactions in March and many remain in some level of paralysis. As such, drawing conclusions from the data is almost a futile effort. I would say, though, it is my belief that the national and state housing markets were in good shape before the virus hit and will be in good shape again, once we come out on the other side. In a similar fashion, I anticipate the national and regional economies will start to thaw, and that many of the jobs lost will return with relative speed. Of course, all of these statements are wholly dependent on the country seeing a peak in new infections in the relatively near future. I stand by my contention that the housing market will survive the current economic crisis and it is likely we will resume a more normalized pattern of home sales in the second half of the year.
HOME SALES
- There were 13,378 home sales during the first quarter of 2020, a drop of only 0.2% from the same period in 2019, but 27% lower than in the final quarter of 2019.
- The number of homes for sale was 32% lower than a year ago and was also 32% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- When compared to the first quarter of 2019 sales rose in eight counties and dropped in seven. The greatest growth was in Cowlitz and Lewis counties. The largest declines were in Island and Snohomish counties.
- Pending sales — a good gauge of future closings — rose 0.7% compared to the final quarter of 2019. We can be assured that closed sales in the second quarter of this year will be lower due to COVID-19.
HOME PRICES
- Home-price growth in Western Washington rose compared to a year ago, with average prices up 8.7%. The average sale price in Western Washington was $524,392, and prices were 0.4% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- Home prices were higher in every county except San Juan, which is prone to significant swings in average sale prices because of its size.
- When compared to the same period a year ago, price growth was strongest in Clallam County, where home prices were up 21.7%. Double-digit price increases were also seen in Kitsap, Skagit, Mason, Thurston, and Snohomish counties.
- Affordability issues remain and, even given the current uncertain environment, I believe it is highly unlikely we will see any form of downward price pressures once the region reopens.
DAYS ON MARKET
- The average number of days it took to sell a home in the first quarter of this year dropped seven days compared to the first quarter of 2019.
- Pierce County was the tightest market in Western Washington, with homes taking an average of only 29 days to sell. All but two counties — San Juan and Clallam — saw the length of time it took to sell a home drop compared to the same period a year ago.
- Across the entire region, it took an average of 54 days to sell a home in the first quarter of the year — up 8 days compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
- Market time remains below the long-term average across the region. This is likely to change, albeit temporarily, in the second quarter due to COVID-19.
CONCLUSIONS
This speedometer reflects the state of the region’s real estate market using housing inventory, price gains, home sales, interest rates, and larger economic factors.
Given the current economic environment, I have decided to freeze the needle in place until we see a restart in the economy. Once we have resumed “normal” economic activity, there will be a period of adjustment with regard to housing. Therefore, it is appropriate to wait until later in the year to offer my opinions about any quantitative impact the pandemic will have on the housing market.
ABOUT MATTHEW GARDNER
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
Original post appeared at www.windermere.com.
Saving to Buy A Home During COVID-19
Image Source: Canva
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way people plan for their future. For those saving to buy a home, the landscape may seem daunting. However, this new world of social distancing and stay at home orders is an opportunity to rethink your spending and saving plans. Keeping the following suggestions for your budget and finances in mind can help make your dream of buying a home a reality.
Rethink your budget:
If there have been changes to your income amid COVID-19, adapting your budget is a logical and necessary step. If your income has gone unchanged, certain tweaks to your budget can yield significant savings. Knowing the leisure portion of your normal expenditure has been removed for the time being is a great starting point for reassessing your spending.
- Begin with your income and assets
- Determine your household’s new baseline and arrange your new budget accordingly
- Divide your budget expenses out into Fixed and Variable
- Adjust for changes in essential costs—Housing, Utilities, Insurance, Food
- Put into savings what normally would have been your leisure spending money
As the stay-at-home lifestyle continues, take a look at your unnecessary costs for such things as memberships, subscriptions, and online shopping. Reach out to the subscription organizations and see if they are offering any options to delay your membership until a later date.
- Categorize all active memberships as Cancel, Adjust, or Keep
- For live entertainment, research how far out the venues have postponed shows
- Adjust your online shopping needs for your current lifestyle
- Reassess the must-haves of your new stay-at-home daily life
Review your finances:
If you’re planning on buying a home in the near future, you are likely already on your financial planning journey. With added uncertainty around COVID-19’s effective timeline, the more information you can gather, the better. In these unprecedented times, flexible solutions are being provided to customers. Exploring what options your banks and issuers are offering will keep you informed and prepared while keeping your finances in order.
Contact your credit card issuer to see if they are offering any of the following options to customers:
- Payment deferral or forbearance
- Flexible fee policies
- Lowering your monthly payment or interest rate temporarily
- Forgiveness or relief from late fees
Following the steps outlined above can go a long way towards helping you save for a home. As your finances are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, take time to adjust accordingly. Continuing to gather information and developing a strategy will help you steer your eventual home purchase in the right direction through these uncertain times.
This post originally appeared on www.windermere.com.
Local Market Update April 2020
Windermere is focused on keeping our clients and our community safe and connected. We’re all in this together. Since the early days of COVID-19, our philosophy has been “Go slow and do no harm.” While real estate has been deemed an “essential” business, we have adopted guidelines that prioritize everyone’s safety and wellness.
Like everything else in our world, real estate is not business as usual. While market statistics certainly aren’t our focus at this time, we’ve opted to include our usual monthly report for those who may be interested. A few key points:
- The monthly statistics are based on closed sales. Since closing generally takes 30 days, the statistics for March are mostly reflective of contracts signed in February, a time period largely untouched by COVID-19. The market is different today.
- We expect that inventory and sales will decline in April and May as a result of the governor’s Stay Home order.
- Despite the effects of COVID-19, the market in March was hot through mid-month. It remains to be seen if that indicates the strong market will return once the Stay Home order is lifted, or if economic changes will soften demand.
Every Monday Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner provides an update regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the US economy and housing market. You can get Matthew’s latest update here.
Stay healthy and be safe. We’ll get through this together.
EASTSIDE
KING COUNTY
SEATTLE
SNOHOMISH COUNTY
VIEW FULL SNOHOMISH COUNTY REPORT
This post originally appeared on GetTheWReport.com
How will the Coronavirus impact the Housing Market? Update March 16, 2020
Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner has been following the situation closely, watch this video for his thoughts on how COVID-19 will impact the national housing market and economy.
What’s Happening in the Market? March 2020 stats
As expected we have seen a dramatic increase in Sold prices for February 2020 numbers over the same time last year. This is primarily due to the 4th Quarter correction in 2018 of homes that closed in February 2019. Market times are falling and Multiple offers are heating up as February 2020 saw more than a 1/3 of the homes sell for over asking price by an average of 5%. Inventory has now dipped to 0.8 Months and even though some Buyers & Sellers have put their Real Estate decisions on hold due to current uncertainties (Virus/Stock Market/Economy) we are still seeing strong activity. This might well be the case for some time to come as interest rates are at an all-time low (3.47%), prices continue to rise and jobs keep flowing into area at a steady pace
Matthew Gardner’s Prediction: Will There Be A Recession in 2020?
January 2020 What’s Happening in the Market Stats
As expected, the market has drastically picked up due to extremely low inventory and heighted Buyer activity that had been holding off purchasing during the holidays. Since these stats are not a rolling 12 month average they are going to appear skewed due to the small sample size, but they do show year over year with many areas growing significantly from January 2019. Pretty much every market has been on fire with Multiple offers on just about everything available for sale. The Days on Market (DOM) have dramatically gone up, but that is primarily due to homes selling that had been on the market for a while that Sold over the holidays. We expect to see the DOM fall significantly over the next couple months as most new listings are now selling in under 14 days & in many cases less than a week. (Pro Tip- Buyers be prepared to put your best foot forward & Sellers to make sure their home is parade ready to get the highest dollar!)
December 2019 “What’s Happening in the Market” Stats
The increased amount of viewership of listings on Realtor.com in January 2019 shows that Buyer interest is absolutely heightened in January around the Puget Sound more than any place due to the limited inventory and the shear amount new jobs being created in our marketplace. This trend shows there is no better time to list a property than now, when the Buyers are actively looking.
“December 2019 stats show that we are creeping in on the highs we saw in 2018 in most areas and in several other areas prices have already surpassed the previous year. Inventory is now below 1 month which means if there weren’t anymore listings coming on the market there would be nothing to buy in 4 weeks. December 2019 Pendings were up 11% over last December and it appears that momentum is going to carry into a very busy January 2020. Sellers are in an great position right now and those listings that are positioned correctly (Price/Condition) are once again looking at multiple offers.”
– Inventory across the NWMLS at the end of December was down 31% from last December.
– Inventory in King County was down 38.8% (Condo and Residential Combined) while Single family was down 41.1%. Currently sitting at 0.9 Months across King, Kitsap, Snohomish and Pierce counties.
– Median Prices across the Puget Sound (4 Counties- King, Kitsap, Snohomish and Pierce) were up 10% while King county rose 3%. This is primarily due to much more New Construction up North and down South.
– Closed sales across the NWMLS in December were up 11% from last December.
– King County is starting to see Multi-Million-dollar sales being purchased with cash at a much higher rate than the previous couple years.
– Rental Properties are very tight as anything New is being reserved prior to being finished.
– Opportunities for Buyers prior to the Spring market are starting to dwindle and Sellers waiting for the Spring market may see an inordinate amount of competition.
– January 2020 may turn out to be the start of the New Spring Market!
What’s Happening in the Market?
Buying/Borrowing Power is now up 12% due to extremely low interest rates (Roughly 3.70%) compared to this time last year while prices are continuing to climb and have reached 2018 prices in most areas. November pendings were up 20% over last November effectively reducing available properties towards all-time lows where we are currently standing at 1.2 months of inventory. There doesn’t seem to be any relief in the near future with a flood of new tech jobs entering the marketplace, but Buyers are still being very selective about purchasing properties that are in turn key condition.
First posted at windermere-bellevue.com
Local Market Update November 2019
A steady influx of buyers continued to strain already tight inventory throughout the area in October. Home sales were up, as were prices in much of the region. With our thriving economy and highly desirable quality of life drawing ever more people here, the supply of homes isn’t close to meeting demand. Homeowners thinking about putting their property on the market can expect strong buyer interest.
EASTSIDE
As the Eastside continues to rack up “best places” awards, it’s no surprise that the area is booming. Development is on the rise, fueled primarily by the tech sector. The appeal of the Eastside has kept home prices here the highest of any segment of King County. The median single-family home price in October was stable as compared to the same time last year, rising 1% to $900,000.
KING COUNTY
King County’s 1.74 months of available inventory is far below the national average of four months. Despite the slim selection, demand in October was strong. The number of closed sales was up 5% and the number of pending sales (offers accepted but not yet closed) was up 11%. The median price of a single-family home was down 2% over a year ago to $660,000. However, some areas around the more reasonably-priced south end of the county saw double-digit price increases.
SEATTLE
Seattle home prices took their largest year-over-year jump in 12 months. The median price of a single-family home sold in October was up 3% from a year ago to $775,000, a $25,000 increase from September of this year. Seattle was recently named the third fastest-growing city in America. Real estate investment is surging. A growing population and booming economy continue to keep demand for housing –and home prices—strong.
SNOHOMISH COUNTY
Both the number of home sales and home prices were on the rise in Snohomish County in October. Overall homes sales increased 7%, and the median price of a single-family home rose 5% over a year ago to $495,000. Supply remains very low, with just six weeks of available inventory.
VIEW FULL SNOHOMISH COUNTY REPORT
This post originally appeared on GetTheWReport.com
