As if the market wasn't already busy enough, the median number of days on the market for houses in the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region is dropping quickly and dropping from a shorter peak than usual. That combination may help set records.
Since 2010, every year has started with a peak in the median days that houses stay on the market. Evidently, buyers are buying other things around the holidays. Then, there's a precipitous drop in the spring or summer. Around New Year's, about half of the houses take less than a month to sell and half take more than a month to sell. February 2013, 2014, and 2015 each recorded 33 median days on the market. A few months later, houses took about a week and a half to sell.
This year is different. The median at New Year's was only three weeks. The drop is also happening earlier and February's levels are already as low as the lowest dips from before, only down 12 days from January's 'peak' of 22 days. We may be about to see median times to sell of less than a week for the broader region, not just in Seattle.
With job growth moving in the right direction (except for some Boeing layoffs), a continuing influx of new residents, and supply lagging demand, there's no reason to expect prices to shrink or sales to slow. Great news for sellers, as long as they aren't buyers, too.
· Redfin Data Center [Redfin]
· Seattle-Area Home Prices Remain Ahead of National Average [CS]
· The Seattle-Area Has Grown Enough To Add Another Seattle [CS]