Tag Archives: housing market

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RE/MAX National Housing Report for May 2024


Inventory Jumped 40%, Home Prices Increased 5%, Sales Exceed 2023 Pace

In May, both inventory and new listings grew to levels not seen since the second half of 2022.  The number of homes for sale, as surveyed across 53 metro areas, also increased, rising 8.7% over April and 39.6% year over year. And for the third consecutive month, the number of new listings exceeded 2023 levels by double-digit percentages – 15.1% in May, 18.2% in April, and 17.6% in March.

Fueled by the 22-month high in new listings, May home sales grew 10.9% over April and 0.7% over last May. Monthly home sales in 2024 have now exceeded the 2023 monthly sales totals for four of the five months.

The Median Sale Price increased 2.4% over April to $435,000. That was 4.8% higher than May 2023. The close-to-list price ratio remained at the 100% level it reached in April following eight months at 99% or less.

Read the full article…

Watch the 32 second summary video…



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Washington State NWMLS Market Update for May 2024



Market Recap

The real estate market has continued to pick up in accordance with typical seasonal patterns, with further increases in activity expected as we move fully into the summer months. The overall number of homes sold and the median sales price of those homes increased year-over-year. Interest rates have only slightly decreased over the past month, by 0.14 percentage points, to 7.03%. This means that prospective buyers’ purchasing power and prospective sellers’ willingness to give up their low interest rate mortgages continues to be constrained. However, for-sale inventory levels have increased dramatically year-over-year, which should help to stabilize home prices.

May 2024 Key Takeaways

  • Washington counties covered by NWMLS saw an overall increase of 7% in the median price of sold homes. The median sale price increased in 17 out of 26 counties, decreased in eight counties, and remained unchanged in one county (Grant) relative to May 2023.*
  • The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($890,000), Snohomish ($785,000) and San Juan ($744,500). The three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Okanogan ($302,000), Columbia ($275,000) and Ferry ($171,500).
  • Washington counties covered by NWMLS saw an overall increase of 6% in the number of closed sales transactions compared to May 2023. Twelve of the 26 counties covered by NWMLS in Washington saw an increase in the number of homes sold year over year, while 13 saw a decrease. Cowlitz county’s year-over year sales were unchanged.*
  • The number of homes on the market increased throughout Washington with 24 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year increase. Overall, there was a 41% increase in active property listings in Washington counties covered by NWMLS.
  • The total number of condominium units for sale has increased by 70% year-over-year, with 2,071 actively listed units at the end of May. The median sales price for the 942 condominiums sold during May 2024 was $529,475, an increase of 11.5% year over year.

*Unchanged refers to a less than 0.5% change in median price or transaction volume.

Contact me for more details, or watch the 0.75 minute market snapshot video…

Source: NWMLS 6/5/2024



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RE/MAX National Housing Report for April 2024

April, the gateway to what are traditionally the busiest months for home sales, has set the stage nicely with closings increasing 11.2% over March and 9.0% over last April. Sales have increased month over month since February.

At the same time, new listings climbed 6.3% month over month and 18.2% over last year across the 50 metro areas surveyed. That, in turn, boosted the number of homes for sale by 6.3% over March and a whopping 28.8% compared to last April.

The Median Sale Price increased 2.9% over March to $437,000. This is the highest price in over two years and was fueled by buyers’ willingness to pay 100% of the list price, compared to 99% last month and last April.

Read the full article…

Watch the 32 second summary video…



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Washington State NWMLS Market Update for April 2024


The real estate market has begun to pick up consistent with typical seasonal patterns, with further increases in activity expected over the next few months as we transition from spring to summer. Interest rates have increased by 0.38 percentage points over the past month to 7.17%, continuing to constrain prospective buyers’ purchasing power and prospective sellers’ willingness to give up low interest rate mortgages. Nevertheless, for the 26 counties covered by NWMLS, April 2024 saw a nearly 10% increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year and an almost 8% increase in median sales prices year-over-year, signaling some market optimism.

Important takeaways from April’s data:

  • The median sales price of homes increased in 23 out of 26 counties relative to April 2023. The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($1,055,000), King ($875,000) and Snohomish ($738,000). The three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Grant ($340,000), Adams ($331,500) and Okanogan ($317,000).
  • The number of homes on the market increased throughout Washington with 23 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year increase, two counties seeing a year-over-year decrease, and remining virtually unchanged* in one county relative to April 2023. Overall, there was a nearly 21% year-over-year increase in active listings in Washington counties covered by NWMLS.
  • Condominium sales saw significant growth in NWMLS service areas, with 858 units sold in April 2024, a year-over-year increase of 15.6%. The median sale price of condominiums increased 11.5% year-over-year, from $465,000 in April 2023 to $518,538 in April 2024.

*Unchanged = less than 0.5 percent change.

Contact me for more details, or watch the 0.75 minute market snapshot video…

Source: NWMLS 5/6/2024



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RE/MAX National Housing Report for March 2024

Home sales in March increased 21.6% over February while trailing the March activity of a year ago. At the same time, a 20.9% surge in new listings during the month fueled a substantial 7.7% expansion in inventory.

The inventory gains helped expand the supply of homes for sale by 24.2% year over year, setting the stage for the customary peak homebuying season of May and June.

Up 5.1% year over year, the Median Sale Price increased 1.5% from February – the third monthly increase in a row – and returned to $415,000, a figure it last reached last September.

Read the full article…

Watch the 32 second summary video…



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Washington State NWMLS Market Update for March 2024


Interest rates have decreased by 0.15% over the past month to 6.79%, and while the rate decrease is encouraging, it has yet to have a significant impact on prospective buyers’ purchasing power or prospective sellers’ willingness to give up low interest rate mortgages. For the Washington counties covered by NWMLS, March 2024 saw an 11.2% decrease in the number of closed sales year-over-year, although median sales prices have continued to steadily rise with a year-over-year increase of 7.5%.

Important takeaways from March’s data:

  • The median sales price of homes increased in 19 out of 26 counties and decreased in 7 counties relative to March 2023. The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($850,000), San Juan ($750,000) and Snohomish ($730,000). The three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Pacific ($347,500), Grant ($325,000) and Columbia ($274,000).
  • The number of homes on the market increased throughout Washington with 20 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year increase. Overall, there was a 1.16% year-over-year increase in active property listings in Washington counties covered by NWMLS.
  • Six of the 26 counties included in the report saw an increase in the number of homes sold year-over-year, while 18 counties saw a decrease. Two counties, Ferry and Chelan, saw relatively no change in the number of year-over-year sales.
  • Condominium sales dipped slightly in the NWMLS service areas, with 752 units sold in March 2024, which is a year-over-year decrease of slightly more than 1%. The median sale price of condominiums increased more than 5% year-over-year, from $470,000 in March 2023 to $495,000 in March 2024.

Contact me for more details, or watch the 0.75 minute market snapshot video…

Source: NWMLS 4/3/2024



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RE/MAX National Housing Report for February 2024

Home Sales Rise, With Sellers
Getting Almost Full Listing Price

With the annual spring homebuying season coming quickly, home sales ramped up in February and spiked 17.0% from January, with a 2.3% increase from February 2023. Of those sales, buyers paid more. The median home price of $412,000 rose 2.1% from January – and 7.0% year over year. The $27,000 increase from February 2023 reflected that buyers on average were willing to pay 99% of the listing price. 

In a third of the markets of the 50 metros areas surveyed, buyers on average paid 98% or less, while in a quarter of the markets the average buyer paid 100% or more. At the current median sales price, 1% is equivalent to approximately $4,000.

Meanwhile, inventory held relatively steady and dropped just 0.6% from January. Months supply of inventory (1.9) declined slightly from January’s 2.1, but was up from last February’s 1.6, and the number of homes for sale was 10.8% higher than a year ago.

In another indicator of increased demand, homes took an average of 44 days to sell in February – two days faster than January and one day faster than February 2023.

Read the full article…

Watch the 32 second summary video…



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Washington State NWMLS Market Update for February 2024

Watch or listen to these 1 minute summary videos, or read the details below!

Listings and Inventory

NWMLS brokers added 6,513 new listings to the database in February 2024, an increase of nearly 25% compared to February 2023. The number of new listings added in King County increased more than 33% year-over-year.

There were 7,495 active listings on the market at the end of February 2024, an increase of nearly 4% compared to a year ago. The volume of homes on the market increased throughout Washington with 17 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year increase.

A balanced market is considered to be 4 to 6 months by most industry experts. At the current rate of sales, it would take less than two months to sell every home that is active in the NWMLS inventory. The four counties with the lowest months of inventory in February 2024 were Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Thurston.


    Pending and Closed Sales

    There were 5,945 total residential & condo units under contract in February 2024, a decrease of 4.6% when compared to February 2023. Despite the overall decrease, there were 11 counties that had a year-over-year increase in the number of pending sales.

    February 2024 saw a 1.62% decrease in closed sales transactions year-over-year. Despite this decrease, there were 10 counties with a year-over-year increase in the number of closed sales. The number of year-over-year closed sales in King and Pacific counties remained unchanged.

    Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in February 2024 increased nearly 6% when compared to February 2023. The median sales price increased year-over-year in 19 of the 26 counties, with the highest median sales prices in King, Snohomish, and San Juan counties.

    Source: NWMLS 3/5/2024



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    RE/MAX National Housing Report for January 2024

    New Listings Soar Higher as
    Spring Ramp-Up Approaches

    In what could be a good sign for buyers, the number of newly listed homes in January was a whopping 66.3% higher than in December and 21.5% higher than January 2023 across the 50 metro areas surveyed.

    The 21.5% year-over-year increase in new listings reversed a multi-year January trend, as new listings dropped 5.1% from January 2022 to January 2023 and 8.1% from January 2021 to January 2022. The dramatic 66.3% month-to-month increase in new listings was also significantly higher than the past two December-to-January jumps – 39.8% to start 2023 and 24.7% to begin 2022.

    The surge in new listings was combined with year-over-year increases in closed sales and inventory, illustrating that January’s housing stats could bode well for the typical spring uptick in home sales this year.

    January home sales were 2.5% higher than January 2023, although they were down 19.1% from December, a slightly smaller post-holiday drop than the past two years. January inventory increased 1.7% over January 2023, ending a seven-month streak of year-over-year declines. The median sales price of $405,000 was 5.2% (or $20,000) higher than January 2023 and unchanged from December.

    Read the full article…

    Watch the 32 second summary video…



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    Washington State NWMLS Market Update for January 2024

    Watch or listen to these 1 minute summary videos, or read the details below!

    Listings and Inventory

    NWMLS brokers added 4,954 new listings to the database in January 2024, which is nearly the same as in January 2023.

    There were 7,084 active listings on the market at the end of January 2024, a decrease of nearly 14% compared to January 2023. The volume of homes on the market has continued to decline throughout Washington with 15 out of 26 counties covered by the NWMLS seeing a year-over-year decrease.

    A balanced market is considered to be 4 to 6 months by most industry experts. At the current rate of sales, it would take around two months to sell every home that is active in the NWMLS inventory. The four counties with the lowest months of inventory in January 2024 were Snohomish, Thurston, King, and Pierce.

      Pending and Closed Sales

      There were 5,282 total residential & condo units under contract in January 2024, a decrease of 8.6% when compared to January 2023.

      January 2024 saw a 3% increase in closed sales transactions year-over-year, an improvement from December 2023’s year-over-year change in closed sales transactions.

      Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in January 2024 was up 6.5% when compared to January 2023. The median sales price increased year-over-year in 19 of the 26 counties, with the highest median sales prices in King, San Juan and Snohomish counties.

        Source: NWMLS 2/5/2024