Home buyer demand falls as recent Seattle real estate trends continue

In early June, I began writing about shifts I was starting to see in the Seattle real estate market data. By July, I had more data points supporting a significant shift in supply and demand, which led to being quoted in local media outlets saying that’s “a pretty simple economic recipe for a softening market.”

Here we are at August 1st with more data to consider. Here goes…

Pending sales for residential homes in Seattle, as of August 1st, are down 12.3% compared to last month and down 22.7% compared to last year.

Meanwhile, as of August 1st, active listings for residential homes in Seattle are up 60.2% compared to last year.

Though the diminishing buyer activity plays a significant role in the increase in active listings on the market, more homeowners are putting their homes on the market; 5.2% more residential listings were put on the market this July compared to last year in Seattle.

Even with these shifts in supply and demand, prices held steady from June to July and are up 7.8% compared to July of 2017 for Seattle residential properties.

Supply, measured as the ratio of sales to active listings, is now just over 1.5 months but still well below the 4-6 month range analysts suggest as a ‘neutral market’ favoring neither buyer nor seller. That being said, supply for residential properties in Seattle is at its highest mark since 2014.

Even though prices may continue to rise, these shifts represent a weakening seller position. The seller luxuries I see as most likely to erode with a shifting market are things like multiple offer scenarios with offer review dates, pre-inspections, waived contingencies, and escalation clauses.

Or said a different way… that old roof of yours? It could soon be a point of buyer negotiation.

Even though the market is shifting, that doesn’t mean it is time to for a knee jerk reaction. If selling has been something that has been on your radar, then I think it’s a good time to have a conversation about your goals and how the evolving market may factor into the strategies we can deploy to meet those goals. This can easily be accomplished over a cup of coffee… please just contact me with the request to get something scheduled.

*Information and Statistics Derived from Northwest MLS