Seattle Housing Market Update – March 2015

The Seattle and Eastside housing market is thriving in all price ranges as of March 2015, with the high end market taking off and first-time home buyers creating strong competition for entry-level homes.  Here are graphs and stats through the end of February 2015, courtesy of Trendgraphix, Inc.

King County Single Family Home Market Activity – Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015

Notice how the red ‘Pended’ line almost mirrors the blue ‘New Listing’ line for the past few months.  Typically this means multiple offers are common, which is definitely the case now.  According to Trendgraphix, Inc, the median sale price for King County single family homes during the last quarter has increased 6.5% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

King County Single Family Homes- Sale Price vs. Original List Price and Cumulative Days on Market – Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015

Sellers are also getting a greater percentage of their original list price in the final sales price, up 1 percent from a year ago.  One thing to note about data based on closed sales is that they reflect market conditions of one to two months previously.  For example, in the graph above, going by SP/Orig LP% it looks as though August of 2014 was a good month to have a home on the market.  In reality most of the homes creating the August ‘closed sale’ stats went pending in late June or July and reflect buyer mindsets from that time.  August is typically one of our slowest months for home buyer activity, and in 2014 it was far slower than usual (as reflected in the lower October and November percentages).

King County Single Family Homes – Months of Inventory Remaining – Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015

Although more King County homes are being listed compared to a year ago, pending sales are up significantly as well, and overall inventory is down.  The graph above shows that if no new listings came on and homes continued to go pending at the current rate, we would be out of inventory in 1.2 months.  From 3 to 6 months of inventory is generally considered a balanced market.

The Bottom Line

Market conditions are excellent for selling a home in King and Snohomish counties right now.  This includes homes in the higher price ranges as well, where we are frequently seeing multiple offers and price escalations.  I expect the March 2015 numbers to show an even stronger trend in this direction.

If you are considering selling this year, please know that our market tends to level out in June and is often the most quiet towards the latter part of July, August, and the first part of September.  Headlines that blare about the ‘hot summer market’ every year are using ‘sold home’ data that is published in mid-summer but reflects market conditions from several months previously.  (Please don’t ask me why so few ‘housing experts’ mention this, I think it’s a really poor reflection on the press that despite so much being written about the housing industry, most of the public is still operating under a misconception when it comes to what times of the year are historically best for selling a home.)