Seattle real estate news for October
The real estate market typically slows down in the fall, but as you know, 2020 is anything but typical. The usual August slowdown never happened, but we're finally seeing the market taper as we head into the wet months.
Prices are up, rates are down, and buyers are still snatching up homes faster than sellers can list them.
In King County, the median sale price jumped 18% compared to last September while the number of homes for sale fell 26%.
4,075 homes went under contract in September (up 46% year-over-year)--the 3rd highest number of pending sales since May 2006! The highest number on record was the prior month (August), with 4,140 pending sales. Demand is NOT a problem. :)
Real estate is an undeniable bright spot for the Coronavirus economy, but concerns loom that home prices may get too high for first-time buyers to get a foothold.
The housing market has put up big gains for sales of expensive homes where remote workers can ride out the pandemic in comfort. Luxury home sales are booming both in terms of home prices and the number of homes sold.
In Seattle, sales of homes over $1M jumped 67% in the 3rd quarter while the sales of homes under $700K were flat compared to last year, confirming the luxury trend in our local market.
"Zoom towns" like Truckee, CA are seeing a big influx of city slickers looking for home offices, big yards and lower home prices than their departure city. I've seen several of my own clients shift their focus away from Seattle toward suburban neighborhoods around the city, or on the Eastside; other clients have opted to move to places like Bainbridge Island (our own local Zoom town) or even West Seattle (Seattle's newest island)!
Spending SO MUCH more time at home has made us scrutinize every aspect of where we live. We ended up redoing most of our yard as a result of the pandemic. I’d love to know what projects others are taking on. :)
Hang in there, everyone, and vote early! Take care of yourself and those you love--these are strange times and we need each other.