Newsletter

Traditionally a quieter month in the winter season, January’s activity continued the year-over-year growth trends observed in market activity over the last twelve months.

The number of closed sales increased by 10.8% year-over-year (3,727 in January 2025 compared to 3,364 in January 2024), and NWMLS brokers added 6,693 new listings to the database in January 2025, an increase of 35.1% compared to January 2024 (4,954).

“For-sale inventories are continuing to rise from historical lows, and that’s helping bring some life to housing market activity in the NWMLS area,”
— Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at CoreLogic

But questions still abound regarding one of the most critical aspects of today’s market – affordability – and the political and economic factors that influence it.

“Both prices and interest rates continued to increase, having a negative effect on affordability,” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) at the University of Washington.
*“The median price rose by nearly 4% to $615,000, while interest rates rose from 6.69% at the end of January 2024 to *6.95% now.”

“Moreover, new immigration policies are expected to have an inflationary impact on home construction costs,” he continued. “And the National Association of Home Builders has warned that tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico would have a significant impact on materials such as lumber and gypsum, while multiple researchers have documented the possible impact of immigration policy on labor supply for home builders.”

“All of this suggests that the affordability of homeownership, which has been declining, will continue to do so,” said Bourassa.

Source: NWMLS

One of the most often asked questions about residential real estate is: Should I purchase a condominium or a house?

As with many questions in real estate, no answer works perfectly in all situations. There are many reasons a condominium will work better for some, while a single-family home will work better for others. If you want to make things more confusing, there can also be an overlap where both options are best.

Here, you may want to think in terms of cost and area first. With the Seattle area’s home pricing increasing before one’s eyes, the key is to get into the market to capitalize on this growth.

The top things to consider are lifestyle and cost. If you find yourself walking the large hardware store’s lawn equipment aisle, dreaming of the day you can strap a leaf blower on your back while following behind your new, front-wheel driven lawnmower, condominium life is not going to be fulfilling.

In the same way, if the idea of yard work horrifies you, a single-family home may not be the best solution. Though highly simplified, one should never underestimate the value of lifestyle.

(Source: SeattlePI)

Cash sales took a bigger role in the U.S. housing market last year as mortgage rates remained high and buyers competed for a limited number of homes for sale.

The share of houses and condos bought with cash hit an 11-year high, accounting for nearly 39% of all sales, according to data provided by Attom to Scotsman Guide.

Nearly 38% of single-family homes were bought with cash, also the largest share purchased with cash since 2013.

Cash tends to take a bigger role in the market when mortgage rates are high and the stock of homes for sale is low.  -Victor Whitman Scotsman Guide

New Conforming Loan Amount Limits for 2025:

KING/PIERCE/SNOHOMISH COUNTY $806,500.00 High Balance $977,500.00