Greater Seattle Real Estate Trends for August, 2017
In a Nutshell Takeaways:
Homes closest to the job centers of Seattle and the Eastside are expensive… but not by all standards. Seattle’s median selling price of single family homes in July was $730,000, and the increase in home values is pushing buyers into more affordable areas.
Our job market has been driving the price gains, as more and more people flock here for jobs and put additional pressure on the already limited inventory of available homes.
The Greater Seattle area is one of the top job markets in the nation, and arguably the world. The lack of affordability that most of us feel who have lived in Seattle for the bulk of our lives contrasts the affordability people from other top job centers seek out in Seattle.
As in, there are a lot of tech workers moving here from San Francisco because they see Seattle as a more affordable city.
Workers moving here from San Francisco are just one example of the variety of factors we have putting a downward pressure on supply, keeping an upward pressure on prices.
Data Points:
The median selling price of Seattle single family homes in July was 18.7% higher than in January and 15.2% higher than July of 2016. Closed sales in July grew 11.0% compared to last year and 8.0% compared to 2015.
The median selling price of King County single family homes in July was 25.3% higher than in January and 18.6% higher than July of 2016. Closed sales in July dropped 2.7% compared to last year and dropped 6.0% compared to 2015.
The median selling price of Snohomish County single family homes in July was 10.5% higher than in January and 11.9% higher than in July of 2016. Closed sales in July dropped 1.6% compared to last year but grew 8.8% compared to 2015.
On the Horizon:
In a previous trends update, we discussed the numbers during the summer months over the past two years and what we might expect this year. Discussed in particular were the rising supply levels during the summer months and a corresponding softening in sales prices.
Early on, the same has held true for 2017… somewhat. July’s data for both Seattle and King County as a whole show an increase in supply levels - .62 months to .73 months in Seattle, and .9 months to 1.06 months in King County. For median selling prices, Seattle’s median softened .7% to $730,000 from $735,000.
And here’s the “somewhat” mentioned above… though supply slightly dropped in King County, the median selling price rose slightly from $654,650 to $658,000.
*Information and statistics derived from Northwest Multiple Listing Services
