Redfin’s market report is out with a reminder of how hot Seattle’s market is, especially when compared to the rest of the country.
More than two-thirds (67.6%) of the houses for sale in Seattle were under contract in less than two weeks. The next fastest was Grand Rapids at 61.8 percent. Portland was down at 46.9 percent. The national norm is 21.3 percent. So yes, things are moving faster here - much faster. Our median time was 13 days; so half of the houses up for sale found a buyer (or buyers) in less than two weeks. That’s a scramble for a lot of folks but if a house hasn’t sold in over a month keep in mind that the national median is 49 days.
As for sales prices, the median for Seattle is $440,000, down 2.2 percent in October from September, but up 8.6 percent from last year. We’re way below the hottest markets of Tampa at 14.2 percent, and Portland which is catching up at 13.3 percent. In general, the nation’s coming along with a median of $269,200 and 7 percent. The only places with higher prices than here are down in California - but we’re catching up.
Inventory is part of the story. Seattle had 5,477 houses for sale, which is down 20 percent from the previous month and 14.1 percent from 2015. That puts us at only 1.4 months of supply, up from the 1.1 months this summer, but far below the six months that are considered for a healthy market. The last time we saw that was in early 2011. The trend seems to have bottomed, which is a relief for buyers, but also for sellers because they become buyers - unless they move out of the area.
Our real estate market is making news, news we’re already aware of; but it can be handy to check it in comparison to the rest of the nation sometimes. Just be glad you’re not in D.C. Their median house price was one of the few that actually fell, down 2.7 percent from last year.