LENNOX SCOTT
December 2021 Seattle Housing Market Trends
Posted by Jason Fox on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 5:14 PM
By Jason Fox / December 8, 2021
Comment
ENJOY OUR SEATTLE HOUSING MARKET REPORT IN 60 SECONDS VIDEO
THE SEATTLE HOUSING MARKET AT A GLANCE
Click Image For Full Size
TABLE OF CONTENTS
We Have 726 Less Homes For Sale in Seattle in November than in the same month of 2019 (pre-pandemic)
THE SEATTLE HOUSING MARKET ANALYSIS FOR DECEMBER 2021
SEATTLE HOUSING MARKET REPORT QUICKSTATS
- Average Sales Price DECREASED by $37k total to $920K
- New Listings DECREASED to 812
- Sold Homes DECREASED to 1,153 (+287 Same Month 2019)
- Pending Sales DECREASED to 1,082 (+279 Same Month 2019)
- Percentage of Sold Price to List Price DECREASED to 102.7%
- Interest Rates STAYED EVEN at an Unbelievable 3.18%
- Home Inventory DECREASED to .6 Months of Supply
Every month we gather all the facts, data and statistics about the Seattle Housing Market and share them with you. We will discuss the 3 major factors in determining the strength of the market.
-
- Monthly Inventory Level
- Percentage of Homes That Go Pending In First 30 Days
- Current Interest Rates
The data tells a story about the current state of our local residential real estate market.
What this story tells me is...
We are back to our seasonal norms as far as listings are concerned and we are still at our post pandemic level of buyer interest in Seattle.
"Compared to other past winter seasons, this winter season’s sales activity will be stronger,” agrees Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors®. “This winter, there will be more sales compared to pre-pandemic winters going back all the way to 2006.”
We have not had enough supply for the pent up demand for the better part of a year and the cold weather and holidays does not seem to be putting a damper on that.
The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that rates will rise to 4% by the end of 2022.
As the rates creep higher we should see the buying pool thin out. Until that happens the levels of new inventory level out and the levels of new buyers stay above average we should continue to see record low levels of inventory and a uber-frenzied market through March of 2022.
As we have been talking about for a few months Seattle has the 2nd highest percentage of tech workers in the country. Tech jobs bring people in from all over the world and tend to be come with an above average salary. So what do tons of new people with above average salaries need when they get to Seattle, a place to live.
When you add the large number of high income tech workers with the unbelievable low interest rates and the desire for people to move into larger homes that accommodate all the at home activities that people have gotten used to it is easy to see how all those new listings continue to sell.
We have been seeing the huge increase in tech workers spill over into the Snohomish County market. That had resulted in slightly higher levels on inventory in Seattle.
According to ApartmentList.com Seattle's median two-bedroom rent is $3,425 month. Which equates to approximately a $720K home with 20% down on a 30 year fixed 3.18% interest rate loan.
The majority of national economists predicted that the real estate market would pull up the economy, and we are seeing that play out. There is a bit of concern about what will happen when the eviction moratoriums come to end, which is scheduled for January 15th.
Buyer indicators have never really declined, and we are continuing to see the seller indicators hit all time highs.
Although WA has essentially opened back up we continue to follow all state mandated safety guidelines and take extra precautions. We are focusing on delivering Virtual Real Estate Services.
White-Hot Winter MarketIn contrast to the chilly temperatures outside, Seattle’s real estate market is white-hot. There are substantially more homes going under contract than there are new listings, and the market is virtually sold out up to the $2 million price point.
There is predominantly frenzy / extreme frenzy Sales Activity Intensity™ for Seattle homes priced up to $3 million; this range comprises 99 percent of local sales activity. The luxury market has healthy sales activity above the $3 million price point.J Lennox Scott
CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate
SEATTLE REAL ESTATE GRAPHS AND DATA
With only .6 months of supply if no other homes were listed in the next 18 days we would run out of houses to buy.
There were 812 new listings in December.
If you are looking for homes from 0 -500k you are seeing slightly more inventory than $500k-$1million.
As you can see from the table above anything below 5 months of inventory is considered low. Low inventory means higher demand. Higher demand drives the price up.
1,153 homes were sold in Seattle last month. That is down 63 from the previous month, up 98 from last year, and up 130 from 5 years ago.
In the Seattle housing market homes in the 500k-1m+ price range typically sell the fastest.
DAYS ON MARKET
74% of homes are selling in less than 30 days in the Seattle housing market. That number is usually closer to 30%.
Houses in the 750K-1mil price range are selling 78.9% of the time in the first 30 days.
Because there are less homes for sale and there are still many buyers trying to buy… the homes that do list are usually selling very fast.
PRICE
AVERAGE SALE PRICE: $919,858
SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL: $1,013,694
CONDOS: $582,980
We have already seen where a low inventory should drive up prices. The average sale price for Seattle homes is $919,858. In comparison 5 years ago the average sales price was $646,494 a 70% increase in equity.
Listings are selling at 102.7% of their list price on average.
TIMING
As you can see from the John L. Scott 6 phases to a yearly house cycle chart we should be in a big slow down in sales intensity.
If you’re a buyer you will want to position yourself to create a buyer advantage when competing with other buyers and walk in confidence when making an offer. We can consult with you to be up-to-date with current market intensity and pricing, get pre-approved or fully underwritten through a lender, and receive email/text notification of newly listed properties.
In today’s instant-response market, it’s key to ensure you’re ready to act when the timing is right and make sure you are Buyer Ready Day One.
Sellers should be Market Ready Day One.
JOB AND POPULATION GROWTH
WHILE WE ARE NOT SURE HOW THE EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS WILL END UP HERE IS THE CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION
CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
WA Employment Security Department
As you can see from the charts above unemployment has evened out over the last year.
"After six consecutive years in the top 2 for growth among the 50 most-populous U.S. cities — that includes a No. 1 showing in 2013 — Seattle dropped to sixth place in 2019." (Seattle Times)
SEATTLE MARKET STATS
STATS PROVIDED BY: INFOSPARK
- $919,858 was the average sold price for listings in Seattle.
- 812 new listings went on the market this month.
- 929 homes were for sale during the month.
- 1,082 homes went pending in Seattle.
- 1,153 homes sold this month
- .6 months of inventory available in Seattle
- 19 was the average days on market for a home to sell in Seattle
- 102.7% was the average listing price vs. sales price percentage
- $552 was the average price per square foot in Seattle
- $1,059,676,853 was the total closed sales volume for Seattle
- 3.18% was the interest rate
- 74% of homes sold in the first 30 days in Seattle
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT: https://www.themadronagroup.com/seattle-housing-market-report/
Post a Comment