King County housing inventory falls

The data are in for January. At least when it comes to inventory, King and Snohomish County’s inventories tell buyers a tale of a tougher 2017 compared to 2016, and 2016 wasn’t exactly an easy year for homebuyers.

According to data compiled by

Seattle Bubble

, the inventories of houses available for sale in each county are down. King County shows 1,444 active listings, down from the 1,906 in the previous January. Snohomish County shows even fewer, 811 listings, down from 1,111. Those are drops of 24 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

For an area that is growing by tens of thousands of people every year, that means there’s low supply and high demand. In 2016, that meant a housing market that was hard to keep up with. 2017 looks like it will heighten the trend.

Some good news in the data;

“Foreclosure notices in King County were down 44 percent from a year ago and Snohomish County foreclosure notices were down 34 percent from last year.“

The era of the Great Recession is rapidly receding into quickly forgotten history.

Granted, winter is the sales season while summer is the busiest. Whether that’s from sellers waiting because of school schedules or weather, it suggests patience may pay off for buyers who can’t find the house they want from the current listings. Just don’t be surprised if the prices are a few percentage points higher, too.

• January Stats Preview: A Dark Winter For Homebuyers [SBB]