Infiniti Real Estate & Development
Seasonal Puget Sound Real Estate Market Update
Mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest in 15 months, offering hope to prospective buyers in Seattle’s real estate market. With new listings up 9.7% and a potential Fed rate cut on the horizon, Fall 2024 presents both opportunities and uncertainties for buyers and sellers alike. Learn more about current trends and how they might impact your next move.
2024 brings relief to buyers and sellers as rates potentially hit their peak in Q4 of 2023 and are predicted to come down this year into the high 5% range or around 6%.
As we head towards winter we are seeing rates drop a bit, recently down at 7.2%. We are seeing homes sit on the market right now and this can sometimes translate into good deals for buyers.
A brief dip in mortgage rates from November to January sparked hopes that the housing market might loosen up, but new data shows that both the Seattle and Puget Sound real estate markets still face challenges.
Last week the Federal Reserve raised the interest rates by the third consecutive time by .75% basis points to reach 3.25% from 0% just a short time ago. This is consistent with what they have said they plan to do and is not the last rise expected this year.
There is an overall sense that “normalcy” is returning to the market with June prices showing their smallest growth since June 2020.
As rates reached over 4.5% last week for the first time in several years, the market continued to stay smoking hot. We expect that if rates continue to rise, we will start to see a material slow down on pricing and perhaps activity, but that has not happened yet.
As we approach the end of the year many fatigued buyers wonder whether we will continue to see a rise in real estate prices. According to Reuters and other news outlets prices are expected to rise into 2022, perhaps just at a little slower than the pace we have seen in 2021.
A recent Seattle Times article said the Seattle Real estate market was “on steroids.” That seems like an understatement as low inventory and more buyers in the market are making the competition as stiff as ever, with average Seattle area home price escalations of $100,000-$200,000 above asking price and even $300,000-$400,000 on homes in Bellevue and red hot areas.