We’re well into July and it finally feels like we are getting some of the warmer weather we’ve deserved for so many months. Especially with being mostly at home during these trying times getting some outdoor air and new scenery can really help us feel refreshed. I know that for me personally being able to get outside and enjoy parks and trails has been a nice mix-up for free time. That free time has been increasingly rare lately with this hot market because I’ve been super busy doing what I love – helping my clients buy and sell homes.

So how are things in the Seattle area real estate market looking? How has Covid impacted the Greater Puget Sound real estate trends? The overall theme is we’re past the initial spring “chill” when buyers and sellers weren’t sure how to react to Covid. That said we haven’t seen nearly enough inventory to tilt the market so we continue to look at a very strong seller’s market across our region. Let’s dive into the details and see what this means by the numbers:

Pricing

Prices are up and as we’ve seen for awhile now are hovering around that 6% increase mark compared to the same time last year. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) reports that in June 2020 prices were up 5.7% for our region compared to June of 2019. The median closed price for June of this year was $465,000. New construction pricing is slightly ahead of that with a median sales price of $564,990 in June. Nearly 5 billion in sales were closed last month with the NWMLS reporting 4.81 billion in sales for June 2020. 4.4 billion of the sales consisted of residential homes with condominiums making up the remainder.

Active and Pending Listings

Last month 10,709 listings were added to the market by members of the NWMLS. Compare this to June in 2019 we saw 11,977 new listings added. This area is a tech hub and tech stocks have been having a record year so as we start to talk about inventory next you can think about how the demand, regardless of the pandemic, is probably even higher this year. As a final data point for active and pending listings, there were 11,916 residential homes and condos under contract last month.

Inventory

It is the inventory (or lack of compared to demand) which continues to drive the strong Seattle area seller’s market. For a long time I’ve written about months of inventory and how that metric tells us if we are in a buyer’s, balanced, or seller’s market. During that time I’ve also written about how (usually after the winter) analysts keep predicting this surge in inventory and the shifting tides of the Puget Sound seller’s market. I am going to stop writing about those predictions until they come true because the bottom line is more people want to buy homes in this area than the available inventory will allow! As of June 2020 the months of inventory available is down to just 1.16, a 33.9% decrease compared to June 2019! That is really low and reflected by what I’m seeing out there in the real world. I would say that right now everywhere is hot, but some areas in particular are SUPER hot. In particular, residential homes under $1MM in the city of Seattle . I’ve ran into situations with some of my clients where we are seeing buyers submit offers with terms like $100K over ask, waive inspection, waive financing, and 10% earnest money! I feel very experienced in this type of market on both the buyer and seller side. I believe I have really competent strategies for how you can stand out as a buyer during these times, and also as how a seller we can maximize the profits from your sale. If you ever want to discuss these strategies feel free to contact me, there is never any pressure!

I hope you are able to safely enjoy some time with those in your bubble this summer.

-Jennifer