Spring 2021 Seattle Real Estate Market Update

Spring Market 2021 Update

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. Real estate bidding wars are common in over 75% of the transactions in the Seattle area, and even rural areas are seeing bidding wars and escalations on average of over 5%. 

The large scale departure from Seattle is slowing down a little, but many less populated periphery markets continue to heat up and experience growth for other reasons than Seattle buyers which is causing bidding wars all over. According to chief economist at Windermere Matthew Gardner the county’s experiencing the most price growth in their median house price are Kittitas County (43.8%), Skagit County (27.3%), Thurston (21.2%), and Whatcom County (20.8%). Snohomish County, Pierce County and Kitsap County also had higher price growth than King County who was at 14.7%.

Interest rates are rising and buyers are feeling the pressure. January had a low rate of 2.65% for conventional and 2.3% for VA, which have now risen to 3.17% and 3.1% respectively. Asset inflation seems to be taking hold as quickly rising prices are pushing some buyers out of the market completely. Luxury markets have seen some of the strongest demand.

Condominium sales remain behind home sales with longer wait times on market and less competition. It seems that people are still looking for more space both inside and outside of the city.

Strong economic trends in our area are giving confidence to buyers but low inventory is making this a very difficult market to navigate. 

If you have any questions about this real estate market, or the value of your home, please feel free to contact me.