Seattle Real Estate Market Update | February 2019
Video Summary
Here are my latest thoughts on the Seattle real estate market…
Home prices in Seattle have corrected, mortgage interest rates are down, housing inventory is declining again, and more homebuyers are entering the market.
These next few months will help frame the story about what has happened, what is currently happening, and what will happen in the Seattle housing market.
Video Transcript
Hey y’all, Zach McDonald your real estate agent with Real Property Associates. I hope you’ve been enjoying the weather out there and if you live in the Seattle area, or you’ve been experiencing the biggest snow we’ve ever had in the month of February. Quite a bit of snow, honestly, for this area. If you’re not from Seattle, you’ve probably seen a lot more snow than we’re used to. But man, I think in my own house I had 12 inches of snow on the ground, which is quite a bit. I haven’t really got to enjoy it though because I’ve had the flu. So I’m going to keep this update relatively short because it hurts a lot to talk, and my video guys also not here, so I’m kind of DIYing it right now. So let’s talk, jump into the story. I still tell a story like I normally do.
The story of this month is some clients, they’re some friends from church, Josh and Jessica if you’re watching this. Hi, guys, congrats. We talked about I don’t know two years ago, I think now about buying a house and the steps to getting there. And at that point, it was more of a dream and a goal. They weren’t ready. They weren’t in really in a good place to buy a house, but that was the goal. And so we talked about some of the strategies to get themselves ready to make a purchase in. Here we are, a couple of years later they decided to make a move down to the Kent area. For them, the house specifically was the most important part. They figured they could make new friends and build new community where their house was and get the house of their dreams at this point. So really excited to announce that they bought their house, and I know they’re really excited. So again, high five, guys if you’re watching this video.
Now, let’s talk about the stats real quick. And I’ll just preface this by saying this isn’t going to be my most step-packed episode and I said, trying to keep this short. But interesting fact, the Seattle real estate market, median sales price, excuse me, is down year-over-year for the first time in, well, since the bottom of the market in 2012. The last seven years we’ve really seen the market take off. And every year I’ve been able to say, “Hey, the market’s better. The market’s better. It’s even better. It’s even better and you’ll see.” That’s what’s contributed to this frenzy that buyers were feeling this pressure to purchase because, “Man, the market’s never going to cool down. It’s always going to go up every month. And if I don’t buy right now I’m toast.” This is just a testament to the fact that it’s not, it doesn’t work quite that way.
So the year-over-year, in Seattle, we’re actually down for the residential sales, about 7-1/2% on the residential median sales price. That’s pretty steep. And the King County overall is down about 1.3%. Surprisingly, those Snohomish County as a whole county is up 1.9%, so the numbers if you look countywide, aren’t quite as dramatic. But in the city itself, the bigger areas, the more expensive areas, we’re seeing the prices, the median sales prices are down quite significantly from last year at the same time.
Now, if you’ve watched other videos of mine, you’ve heard me talk about where I think we’re going and why I think we’re not having any kind of a long-term market crash. You definitely have seen a correction. I don’t want to get too much into that right now. I really just don’t have the energy for it but one to give you kind of the latest numbers and stats here.
Feel free to comment below. I’d love your thoughts and your opinions about where we’re headed and what’s been going on. So if you’ve been following me for any length of time, please say hi. Please weigh in down below in the comments. And as far as for the buyers here, I would just say don’t feel a pressure to purchase right now. And maybe you don’t. You probably don’t anymore. But at the same time, there are still some good opportunities out there and there might be a good house for you out there.
So if you are thinking about getting into the market or want to talk about where your specific situation maybe I’m happy to be a resource for you. Feel free to reach out to me. These videos are a way for me to just bring value. And I hope that I do that. So if you’ve been watching these videos and you haven’t subscribed to my channel yet, please subscribe to this YouTube channel. I’d love to continue to bring more value to you and share more of my thoughts on the Seattle real estate market. So with all that being said, thanks so much for watching and we’ll talk soon. Bye for now.
