Market Recap

January housing market data shows a continuation of recent trends, with growing inventory outpacing buyer demand across much of Washington state. Active listings increased nearly 21% year over year, while closed sales declined 7% and median prices fell 3%.

“Substantial year-over-year growth in active listings continues to be accompanied by much slower, even negative growth in sales and median prices,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington.

Compared to December, inventory rose nearly 6% in January, while closed sales dropped 31% and median prices declined about 3%. The data suggests more homeowners are willing to sell, while affordability constraints continue to limit buyer participation.

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• The total number of properties listed for sale increased 20.9% year over year, with 12,376 active listings on the market at the end of January 2026, compared to 10,241 at the end of January 2025. Month over month, active inventory increased by 5.6%, up from 11,718 in December 2025.

Closed Sales

• Closed sales decreased 7% year over year, with 3,465 transactions in January 2026 compared to 3,727 in January 2025. Month over month, sales decreased 30.8% from 5,010 in December 2025.

Median Sales Price

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in January 2026 was $595,000, down 3.25% from January 2025 ($615,000). Month over month, the median price declined 2.8% from $612,250 in December 2025.
• The counties with the highest median sales prices were San Juan ($969,000), King ($770,000), and Snohomish ($678,500), while the lowest median prices were recorded in Columbia ($265,000), Okanogan ($330,000), and Grant ($339,900).

Source: NWMLS 2/4/26

Inventory Rose and Prices Held Steady

Sales Recap

The number of closed sales showed a slight year-over-year increase of 0.21%, up by 141 transactions compared to 2024’s total of 67,788. Total dollar volume also edged upward from just under $54.5 billion.

The median sales price for completed transactions reached $644,500, a 0.7% increase over 2024’s median of $640,000. For perspective, the median price in 2015 was $310,000, illustrating a decade of sustained home value growth. Homes sold for an average of 99.6% of the list price, reflecting a market that has gradually shifted away from the extremely competitive bidding conditions seen in earlier years.

Despite increased inventory, affordability constraints continued to weigh on market activity. Average active listings rose more than 34% compared to 2024, while new listings increased by only 8.9%, implying a longer time on the market for listings. As a result, sales transactions remained virtually unchanged, and median prices rose by less than 1%.

Listing Activity

When reviewing the overall inventory of all active listings, on average there were 16,007 active listings in the NWMLS database each month in 2025, a 34.4% increase from 2024’s average of 11,910.

Months of supply averaged 2.83 months, an improvement from the previous year’s 2.11 months, but still short of the 4–6 months typically associated with a balanced market. Inventory levels were lowest in March at 2.15 months and highest in September at 3.25 months.

Source: NWMLS 1/15/26

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Market Recap

The housing market in December closely mirrored conditions seen in October and November, continuing a pattern of rising inventory and softening prices. Active listings increased 23% year over year, while prices declined by approximately 2% for the third consecutive month compared to the same period in 2024. Closed sales rose just 4% from December 2024, indicating that buyer activity has not kept pace with the increasing inventory.

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• The total number of properties listed for sale increased 23% year over year, with 11,718 active listings on the market at the end of December 2025, compared to 9,524 at the end of December 2024. Month over month, active inventory declined by 24.7% (3,839 listings), down from 15,557 in November 2025.

Closed Sales

• Closed sales increased 4.1% year over year, with 5,010 transactions in December 2025 compared to 4,812 in December 2024. Month over month, sales rose 2.9% from 4,870 in November 2025.

Median Sales Price

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in December 2025 was $612,250, down 1.8% from December 2024 ($623,500). Month over month, the median price declined 2.8% from $630,000 in November 2025.
• The counties with the highest median sales prices were San Juan ($900,000), King ($808,500), and Snohomish ($730,000), while the lowest median prices were recorded in Columbia ($237,500), Okanogan ($300,000), and Pacific ($365,000).

Source: NWMLS 1/6/26

Market Recap

November 2025 saw more homes on the market year-over-year, with active listings up nearly 24%. Month-over-month, inventory declined as expected for this time of year, reflecting the typical seasonal slowdown heading into winter. Closed sales softened as well, falling 10.6% compared to last year and 21.7% month-over-month. The median sales price edged down slightly to $630,000.

Buyer activity remained steady, with property showings holding close to last year’s levels. Nearly 76% of listings were eligible for the NWMLS Down Payment Resource program, offering continued support and opportunities for homebuyers. Overall, the data reflects a market experiencing rising supply, moderate price adjustments, and stable buyer engagement heading into winter.

“Mortgage interest rates leveled off in November, ending the month at 6.23%. Persistent interest rates, combined with the usual seasonal downturn at this time of the year, have caused prices and sales to drop both month-over-month and year-over-year.” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington.

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 23.9% increase in total number of properties listed for sale year-over-year, with 15,557 active listings on the market at the end of November 2025, compared to 12,558 at the end of November 2024. When compared to the previous month, active inventory decreased by 3,234 listings (-17.2%), down from 18,791 in October 2025.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased in all of NWMLS’s coverage area, with 20 out of 27 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase.

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales decreased by 10.6% year-over-year (4,870 in November 2025 compared to 5,446 in November 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales decreased by 21.7%, down from 6,222 sales in October 2025.
• 18 out of 27 counties saw a decrease in the number of closed sales year-over-year, while 6 saw an increase, and 3 showed no change.

Median Sales Price

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in November 2025 was $630,000 — a decrease of 2.3% when compared to November 2024 ($645,000). Compared to the previous month, the median price decreased by 1.6% ($640,000 in October 2025).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($1,025,000), King ($830,000), and Snohomish ($719,000).

Source: NWMLS 12/3/25

Market Recap

Mortgage interest rates continued to trend lower in October, ending the month at 6.17% for 30-year fixed-rate loans, the lowest level since early October 2024. Across NWMLS counties, the number of sales and median prices fell year-over-year by 4% and 1.5%, respectively, while active listings jumped 27%, giving buyers more options in the market despite ongoing affordability challenges. Compared to September, both sales and median prices increased modestly, by about 1% and 1.5%, following declines in the previous month.

“The year-over-year numbers suggest that potential buyers continue to be constrained by high interest rates. While it might be tempting, it would be overreaching to attribute the latest month-over-month changes to lower interest rates. One month of data does not constitute a trend, and it is very difficult to predict whether the current moderating trend will continue,” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington.

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 27% increase in the total number of properties listed for sale year-over-year, with 18,791 active listings on the market at the end of October 2025, compared to 14,795 at the end of October 2024.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased in all of NWMLS’s coverage area, with 24 out of 27 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase.

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales decreased by 4% year-over-year (6,222 in October 2025 compared to 6,479 in October 2024).
• 16 out of 27 counties saw a decrease in the number of closed sales year-over-year, while 10 saw an increase, and 1 showed no change.

Median Sales Price

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in October 2025 was $640,000 — a decrease of 1.5% when compared to October 2024 ($650,000). Compared to the previous month, the median price increased by 1.5% ($630,700 in September 2025).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($887,300), San Juan ($764,750), and Snohomish ($739,500), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Ferry ($219,900), Columbia ($242,498), and Pacific ($315,000).

Source: NWMLS 11/5/25

Market Recap

Inventory is climbing, giving buyers more options, while home prices are showing signs of moderation after years of rapid growth. The median sales price in September dipped 0.7% year-over-year, from $635,000 to $630,700, and fell 3% month-over-month from August’s $650,000. Similar month-over-month declines were seen in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. Interest rates have declined slightly, but not enough to significantly impact the market.

“House prices in the NWMLS service area have generally been sluggish in response to high interest rates,” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. “Initially, high interest rates discouraged both sellers and buyers, but in recent months, sellers have been listing properties at a faster rate than buyers have been purchasing them. To some extent, these changes may reflect typical seasonal fluctuations, but at some point the laws of supply and demand may prevail, and prices may lose some of their stickiness.”

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 27.3% increase in total number of properties listed for sale year-over-year, with 20,052 active listings on the market at the end of September 2025, compared to 15,748 at the end of September 2024. When compared to the previous month, active inventory decreased by 167 listings (-0.8%), down from 20,219in August 2025.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased in most of NWMLS’s coverage area, with 23 out of 27 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase. 

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales increased by 5.9% year-over-year (6,170 in September 2025 compared to 5,828 in September 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales decreased by 2.7%, down from 6,341 sales in August 2025.
• 19 out of 27 counties saw an increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year, while 5 saw a decrease, and 3 showed no change.

Median Sales Price

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in September 2025 was $630,700 — a slight decrease of 0.7% when compared to September 2024 ($635,000). Compared to the previous month, the median price decreased by 3% ($650,000 in August 2025).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($1,050,000), King ($850,000), and Snohomish ($722,525), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Columbia ($290,000), Pacific ($330,000), and Ferry ($335,000).

Source: NWMLS 10/6/25

Market Recap

In August, both active listings and home sales declined compared to July—by 2.7% and 7.7%, respectively—across the 27 counties in the NWMLS coverage area. This slowdown was largely driven by weaker activity in King and Snohomish counties. Compared to the same time last year, listings rose by 30.8%, but sales fell by 5.7%, indicating continued stagnant buyer demand. Median home prices remained flat month-over-month and increased just .8% year-over-year.

“Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined early in the month, from 6.72% at the end of July to 6.63% a week later, but have dropped relatively slowly since then, ending the month at 6.56%,” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. “Pressure on the Federal Reserve Bank to lower its overnight federal funds rate is expected to result in cuts later this year, but it is unclear that such cuts will lead to significant changes in long-term rates, such as for mortgages.”

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 30.8% increase in total number of properties listed for sale year-over-year, with 20,219 active listings on the market at the end of August 2025, compared to 15,453 at the end of August 2024. When compared to the previous month, active inventory decreased by 562 listings (-2.7%), down from 20,781 in July 2025.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased throughout the NWMLS coverage area, with 25 out of 27 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase. The six counties with highest year-over-year increases in active inventory for sale were Ferry (+63%), Snohomish (+50.1%), Jefferson (+47.3%), Clallam (+46.3%), Columbia (+45.8%), and Thurston (+38.9%).

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales decreased by 5.7% year-over-year (6,341 in August 2025 compared to 6,727 in August 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales decreased by 7.7%, down from 6,867 sales in July 2025.
• 15 out of 27 counties saw a decrease in the number of closed sales year-over-year, while 9 saw an increase, and 3 showed no change. The six counties with the largest increases were Clallam (+16.3%), Okanogan (+16.1%), Grant (+11.5%), Lewis (+8.3%), Island (+7.9%), and Douglas (+5.1%).

Median Sales Price

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in August 2025 was $650,000 — a slight increase of .8% when compared to August 2024 ($645,000). Compared to the previous month, the median price remained unchanged ($650,000 in July 2025).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($1,050,000), King ($875,000), and Snohomish ($755,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Ferry ($250,000), Columbia ($319,000), and Grays Harbor ($323,500).

Source: NWMLS 9/4/25

Market Recap

At the end of July 2025, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.72%, virtually the same as the average rate over the past year. As a consequence, home sales remain sluggish with only a 3.81% increase in transactions over July 2024. The growth in listings relative to a year earlier was much greater at 37.42%. Meanwhile, median prices remained consistent with July 2024 prices.

“As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank kept the federal funds rate unchanged at its July 30 meeting, reflecting ongoing concerns about inflation,” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. “Although the federal funds rate is not directly related to mortgage rates, this decision does suggest that there is unlikely to be any improvement in mortgage rates in the near future.”

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 37.42% increase in total number of properties listed for sale year-over-year, with 20,781 active listings on the market at the end of July 2025, compared to 15,122 at the end of July 2024. When compared to the previous month, active inventory increased by 944 listings (+4.76%), up from 19,837 in June 2025.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased throughout the NWMLS coverage area, with 26 out of 27 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase.

New Listings

• NWMLS brokers added 10,418 new listings to the database in July 2025, a year-over-year increase of 12.25% compared to July 2024 (9,281). When compared to the previous month (June 2025), new listings decreased by 4.99%, when 10,965 listings were added to the NWMLS database.
• The number of new listings increased year-over-year in 23 of 27 counties.

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales increased by 3.81% year-over-year (6,867 in July 2025 compared to 6,615 in July 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales increased by 2.58%, up from 6,694 sales in June 2025.

Median Sales Price and Total Dollar Value

• The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in July 2025 was $650,000 — unchanged from July 2024. Compared to the previous month, the median price declined 2.99%, down from $670,000 in June 2025.
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($906,250), King ($875,000), and Snohomish ($765,000).

Source: NWMLS 8/5/25

Market Recap

Inflation and unemployment concerns prompted the Federal Reserve to maintain the federal funds rate at its current level, “giving a general indication of trends that may affect mortgage rates,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER). Mortgage rates remain stubbornly high at 6.77%, making affordability a challenge for prospective buyers. “The continued anticipation of inflation and concerns about increasing government debt suggests that mortgage interest rates are not likely to go down any time soon,” continued Bourassa.

Selma Hepp of Cotality indicated that though mortgage rates may be daunting, the “increase in the availability of homes for sale and the softening of home prices” indicates the NWMLS service area “is experiencing a re-balancing of housing market trends.”

“As prices moderate, opportunities open up for buyers who have been priced out, which may help stabilize the home market,” continued Hepp.

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 38.82% increase year-over-year in the total number of properties listed for sale in the NWMLS service area, from 14,393 in June 2024 to 19,837 active listings in June 2025. When compared to May 2025, June experienced an 8.34% increase from 18,310 listings.
• All 27 counties in the NWMLS service area experienced double-digit, year-over-year increases in active listings.
• The six counties with the highest increases in active inventory were Columbia (+70%), Grant (+61.59%), Snohomish (+50.96%), Whatcom (+49.02%), King (+46.69%) and Adams (+46.51%).

Closed Sales and Months of Inventory

• The number of closed sales increased by 1.01% year-over-year, up from 6,627 in June 2024 to 6,694 in June 2025. When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales increased by 3.51%, up from 6,467 sales in May 2025.
• A balanced market is considered to be 4 to 6 months by most industry experts. At the current rate of sales, it would take a little less than 3 months (2.96) to sell every home that is active in the NWMLS inventory. The six counties with the lowest months of inventory in June 2025 were Kitsap (2.05), Snohomish (2.12), Thurston (2.19), Pierce (2.65), King (2.72) and Skagit (2.9).

Median Sales Price and Total Dollar Value

• Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in June 2025 was $670,000, a slight increase of 3.08% when compared to June 2024 ($650,000). When compared to last month, the median price increased 1.52% from $660,000 in May 2025.

• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($1,035,000), King ($913,563) and Snohomish ($775,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Columbia ($275,000), Adams ($320,000) and Ferry ($340,000).

Source: NWMLS 7/3/25

Market Recap

The real estate market continued to experience significant growth in housing inventory across NWMLS’s coverage area. While buyer activity showed some signs of seasonal strength, it continued to lag behind the surge in new and active listings. Buyers may be slow to accepting what may be a new normal, with mortgage rates continuing to hover close to 7% and construction costs hampering new developments.

Still, May brought some encouraging signs for buyers. The number of active listings reached 18,310, marking the highest level of inventory since September 2018 when there were 19,256 homes on the market. In addition, prices showed signs of stabilizing: the median home price declined 1% year-over-year and edged up less than 1% from April, indicating a slowdown in price growth. This increase in supply gives buyers more options and may help ease some competitive pressure.

Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 42.63% increase year-over-year in the total number of properties listed for sale in the NWMLS service area, from 12,837 in May 2024 to 18,310 active listings in May 2025. This was also a 26.6% increase from 14,459 active listings in April 2025.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased throughout the NWMLS coverage area, with 24 out of 26 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase. The six counties with the highest increases in active inventory were Clallam (+72.5%), Snohomish (+64.1%), Ferry (+59.1%), King (+57.7%), Grant (+53.3%) and Adams (+52.3%).

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales decreased by 3.3% year-over-year, down from 6,689 in May 2024 to 6,467 in May 2025. When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales increased by 9.9%, up from 5,887 sales in April 2025.

Median Sales Price

• Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in May 2025 was $654,995, a slight decrease of 0.8% when compared to May 2024 ($660,000). When compared to last month, the median price slightly increased ($650,000 in April 2025).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($865,000), San Juan ($831,000) and Snohomish ($785,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Ferry ($138,000), Columbia ($256,000) and Pacific ($323,000).

Source: NWMLS 6/4/25