Where is Seattle’s Housing Headed?

When compared nationally, Seattle is still one of the strongest markets in the nation for housing. While the inventory of houses has increased and sales slowed, home prices in Seattle are still rising. The Real Estate Journal for the Wall Street Journal reported that Seattle had a 45% increase in inventory and a 6.9% increase in price from the same time last year. Out of 28 metropolitan markets that the Wall Street Journal reported on, Seattle had both the highest increase in inventory and the highest increase in price. Seattle also has one of the lowest rates of loan defaults in the nation, reported at 1.65. What does all this mean?

The bottom hasn’t fallen out of the real estate market in Seattle. Homes are still selling, some selling with multiple offers but many homes are taking longer to sell it all depends upon the neighborhood and the price range. Generally speaking, buyers are being cautious and taking their time and fully investigating prices when they are interested in a property which is something that all buyers should do however in our recent market of the past few years buyer didn’t even get a chance for a second look at the property before they were forced by time constraints and an active market to put in an offer. Now buyers have the chance to be choosy and look around before making an offer. What does this mean for sellers? It means sellers are going to have to get their homes into the right price point and get their homes in tip top shape so it stands out amongst the rest. There are many things that sellers can do in this type of market to improve their bottom line and timing of a sale. We offer specialized seller services with a walk-thru consultation of your home, going over all the options and recommendations for things like improving curb appeal, staging your home, re-designing and giving it our 2 hour makeover to increase the value on the market.

Predictions for the up coming months for Seattle’s real estate market?

I strongly believe the rest of the year will be slow for sellers and a great time to buy for buyers. With the holiday season, many people do not want to deal with their house being on the market so they either neglect their house (if they’ve moved) or take it off the market. For buyers, it’s the darkest and wetest time of the year (perfect conditions to buy in) and you have seller’s who are generally more motivated to sell. On both sides usually you have people who are serious about buying/selling and that often helps in negotiating and coming to an agreement. After the first of the year I anticipate that the market will pick up quite a bit and by mid-January we’ll be seeing a more active market.