Seattle Real Estate Market Update | March 2018

Here are my latest thoughts on the Seattle area real estate market.

 

[Video Transcript]

Hey, all, Zach McDonald, your real estate agent with Real Property Associates, and this is the month of March 2018’s real estate market update. Now, I want to continue with the form that I have kept and promised. I want to start with a story, make these a little bit more personal. I want to share the story of Nathan and Yushan. Now they’re clients of mine that are currently under contract to purchase a house in the Pinehurst neighborhood. We met, actually, on YouTube. So they were watching this video, to be exact, and following along for about six months and then were deciding to move back into the area.

And so we met up. We talked a little bit about the process. Now, the fun thing about them is they were first-time homebuyers. Well, I guess they still are first time homebuyers. And super enthusiastic, eager to learn, and that’s one of my favorite thing about working with first-time homebuyers. I think it’s the most rewarding demographic to work with because they’re enthusiastic. They’ve never done this before. And so, for me, that’s a shot in the arm. It’s an opportunity to then take that energy and transfer it to other clients who maybe are a little bit more mechanical. They’ve done it a few times. So bringing that fresh excitement is always really fun.

Now, these clients, we made five offers, actually, and we were looking in Ravenna and we were looking in the Northgate area. We were looking in Maple Leaf. It’s still really competitive market. There are lots of offers. There was one we had like 13 on it. We had 20 on another one. So just lots and lots of competition for the buyers, but if you stick with it, there’s great opportunity for success. And they actually, in a couple weeks they’re going to get to move into their house. So really excited for Nathan and Yushan.

Now, talking about the stats, the month of February stats, so these are from the Northwest MLS. The City of Seattle set a new median sales price record at $751,000. That’s the second month in a row that we’ve broken the record. So January and now February eclipsing the prices from last June. Guys, it’s only March. We’re still at the end of the winter here. It’s not even spring yet, so expect these market prices to continue to climb as we head into and are already in the hot time to sell your house.

Inventory is also super low, so that’s the biggest driving factor and has been in the Seattle real estate market, and that hasn’t changed. And it’s actually worse than it was last year, if you can even imagine that. So supply is low, the demand’s still high, so these prices are going to keep going up.

If you’re a seller, this is the time to jump into the market. This is the time to start prepping your house. This is the time start talking to a real estate agent and get your ducks in a row, so to speak, so that you’re ready to capitalize and can capitalize on the hot time to buy.
And buyers, I’ve been talking about this and will keep talking about this. Interest rates are going up, not down, and this is something … I’ve talked with multiple lenders that I strongly recommend and respect a lot, and they agree that interest rates are climbing and will continue to climb as we head into the rest of this year and even into future years. They think gone are the days of those 3.5, 4% interest rates, and we might be seeing more of the historical averages in the six and seven percents.

So as a buyer, that’s going to decrease your buying power and make it even harder to buy in this market. I’ve seen it firsthand, friends that have either had to move north or move south or even move completely out of the area because they were priced out. So if you’re a position to make a purchase right now, this is the time to do it before you get priced out.

So thank you for watching. If you’re watching this and you’re maybe someone like Nathan and Yushan and you’re following me on Facebook or YouTube and you have questions about buying a house and you’re thinking about maybe making a purchase, I’d love to be a resource for you, so please reach out. And if you know somebody who’s maybe thinking about selling or buying in the near future, do them a favor. Connect them to me. I’d love to be a resource for them, and I’ll take great care of them. Thanks so much for watching, and we’ll talk soon. Bye for now.