Market Updates

Market Updates, Real Estate

Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2019

A strong local employment sector, very low mortgage interest rates, and the most balanced market we’ve seen in two decades each contributed to increased sales velocity in 2019. While the number of homes for sale increased overall in 2019 as compared to 2018, the higher rate of sales throughout the year resulted in […]
Market Updates, Real Estate

Q3 2019 Reports: Market Update

Q3 was the most stable and balanced market we have seen in years. With very low mortgage interest rates compelling buyers to act and fewer homes for sale than we saw last fall (when a flood of homes came to market), buyers and sellers are each finding their own place in a more equitable […]
Market Updates, Real Estate

Q2 2019 Reports: Market Update

Changes in the home lending environment drove down mortgage interest rates in Q2 to their lowest levels in years, giving buyers more buying power for their money and stimulating demand for available homes on the market. The number of homes for sale is up markedly, especially in Seattle, as is the number of […]
Market Updates, Real Estate

Q1 2019 Reports: How’s the Market?

Be forewarned, this quarter’s report looks somewhat dismal. There are two very relevant facts that should be taken into consideration when reviewing it. The first is that Q1 is nearly always the worst performing quarter of any year because the sales completed in Q1 typically went under contract between late November and the end […]

Market Updates Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2019 A strong local employment sector, very low mortgage interest rates, and the most balanced market we’ve seen in two decades each contributed to increased sales velocity in 2019. While the number of homes for sale increased overall in 2019 as compared to 2018, the higher rate of sales throughout the year resulted in […]

Market Updates Q3 2019 Reports: Market Update Q3 was the most stable and balanced market we have seen in years. With very low mortgage interest rates compelling buyers to act and fewer homes for sale than we saw last fall (when a flood of homes came to market), buyers and sellers are each finding their own place in a more equitable […]

Market Updates Q2 2019 Reports: Market Update Changes in the home lending environment drove down mortgage interest rates in Q2 to their lowest levels in years, giving buyers more buying power for their money and stimulating demand for available homes on the market. The number of homes for sale is up markedly, especially in Seattle, as is the number of […]

Market Updates Q1 2019 Reports: How’s the Market? Be forewarned, this quarter’s report looks somewhat dismal. There are two very relevant facts that should be taken into consideration when reviewing it. The first is that Q1 is nearly always the worst performing quarter of any year because the sales completed in Q1 typically went under contract between late November and the end […]

Market Updates Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2018 An increase in homes for sale coupled with rising interest rates have created a far more balanced market than we started 2018 with. This is a good thing as it will help our region tame affordability and create a sustainable marketplace. More homes came to market in 2018 than in any year since 2011. […]

Market Updates Q3 2018 Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report As Q3 comes to a close, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at their highest levels since April 2011—now averaging just above 4.7%. Even so, they are still far lower than their 30-year trendline. A 1% increase in mortgage interest rates decreases buying power by 10%. Or said differently, a 1% rate increase has the same […]

Market Updates Q2 2018 Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report Signs of transition to a more balanced market are becoming abundantly clear as we move further into 2018. Price growth, while still climbing in most areas, has tapered off and average market times are inching up. Brokers are beginning to dust off forms that have seen little use of late—finance and inspection contingencies—as buyers […]

Market Updates Q1 2018 Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report Q1 prices in the Seattle-Eastside region have escalated yet again with no sign of slowing in the immediate future. An unprecedented lack of inventory for sale coupled with rising interest rates has prompted buyers to compete with reckless abandon to win the prize of their very own home, albeit with a steep price tag. […]

Market Updates Baby Boomers: Impact on the U.S. Housing Market Originally posted on Windermere Blog. 75 million Baby Boomers control nearly 80% of all U.S. wealth, and as this generation ages, retires, and inevitably downsizes, they will have a significant impact on the housing market. Windermere’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, explains when we can expect to see Boomers start to sell, opening much-needed inventory and making home ownership available to younger generations.

Market Updates 2017 Real Estate Forecast Matthew Gardner, chief economist for Windermere Real Estate, was one of the presenters at this year’s Eastside Windermere Real Estate Kick Off I attended. I eagerly look forward to his forecast, because it is always so packed with useful information. And I love sharing it with you! He covered our local economy – which is […]

Market Updates Making sense out of the market With the continued low inventory around Seattle and the Greater Eastside, how do our regional housing sales continue to grow? In his recently released 3rd quarter report, Windermere Real Estate’s chief economist, Matthew Gardner, pointed out that there has been an uptick in the number of 1st time home buyers purchasing homes. Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s […]

Market Updates Why So Many Americans Are Either Upsizing or Downsizing Originally appeared on Windermere Blog, written by Shelley Rossi. According to two recent surveys that took industry watchers by surprise, many family homeowners are putting frugality aside and upsizing to new houses that average as large as 2,480 square feet (an increase of as much as 13 percent from the year before), and sometimes exceed […]

Market Updates What We Know (and Don’t Know) About the Impact of Brexit This blog post authored by Matthew Gardner originally appears on Windermere Blog on June 27, 2016. The decision of the British public to leave the European Union is a historic one for many reasons, not least of which was the almost uniform belief that there was absolutely no way that the public would vote to dissolve a partnership […]

Market Updates Historically low inventory levels, how we got here, & what to expect in the coming year [Video] Originally posted on Windermere Blog The housing market is performing remarkably well, with the exception of incredibly low inventory levels in many areas throughout the country. Why is this happening? Windermere’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, explains why and offers his predictions for what we can expect in the future.

Market Updates Economic & Housing Outlook for the Puget Sound Region I recently attended two highly informative events where Windermere’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, covered the economic and housing outlook for our region. Mr. Gardner shared that the economic landscape for the greater Seattle area is quite good. Our unemployment and rate of inflation are both low. He stated that we need to see more diversification […]

Market Updates Rising Interest Rates Spur Buyer Competition According to a recent report by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, well-priced homes are drawing multiple offers, with jumps in both pending and closed home sales compared to this time last year. While the number of new listings is also up, the overall inventory of available homes is still low compared to buyer demand…and with […]

Market Updates Some Notes on Our Local Housing Market… The housing market recovery, locally and nationally, and the low inventory in our region are both hot topics of interest. Windermere Blog featured posts on both subjects this week. Windermere's president, OB Jacobi, discusses the low inventory in our region in his post Time to Reality Check the Real Estate Market. From the post: "Here […]

Market Updates Gardner Report Shows Positive Growth in the Puget Sound Mr. Gardner is a land use economist and principal with Gardner Economics and is considered to be one of the foremost real estate analysts in the Pacific Northwest. In his third quarter report for 2012, he continues to see positive growth in the economy and real estate in Western Washington, but the rate of growth […]

Market Updates 3rd Quarter 2012: Reviews for Seattle, Mercer Island & the Eastside The Seattle market has remained incredibly active with sales up 15% over the same quarter last year—1855 homes sold in the third quarter of 2012 compared to 1609 homes sold during the same period in 2011. The average sales price slipped ever so slightly to $474,633 while the median sales price increased 4% to $407,000. […]

Market Updates May Reports Show Home Prices Up New listings in the month of May lowered absorption rates slightly in Seattle, the Eastside and King County while pending sales remained strong. Mercer Island saw a decent decline in pending sales…likely due, in part, to the lack of inventory for sale in key price ranges. Median sales prices are up in most areas and […]