Published March 12, 2021
March 2021 - Market Report
As we see Spring emerging around us, our local market is already experiencing it in full force with its own days of sunshine and rainstorms... let's look at the sunshine first:
Inventory - holding steady in at 0.9 months in King and down slightly in Snohomish county to just 0.4 months... a historic low.List to Sell Price Ratio - on the rise for both counties up 103.3% (up 3.1%) and 104% (up 1.8%) in Snohomish county.Home Prices - median home price rose in King by 4.5% last month to $679,950 and 2.6% in Snohomish County to $560,000. King county values are up 114% over the last 10 years, and Snohomish County is up 146%!
Now, the rainstorm...
Interest Rates - rose to 3.02% recently which is up about 0.37% since January and is slightly below where rates were one year ago. This decreased the buying power of a monthly payment by about 4.7% since January... which definitely creates motivation for buyers to take action before rates go up further.
The next three months will be very interesting in our market as seasonal inventory grows and interest rates potentially continue rising to the mid-3% range. As rates rise, a number of buyers will likely take pause hoping rates will drop which may decrease demand slightly. This combined with higher inventory may mean we see a bit more balance in the market with "list to sell" ratios closer to 100% than 105%.
What we don't see at the moment is a bubble... while prices are growing, we aren't seeing speculators in the market nor are we seeing risky loan products leveraged to help buyers get into properties. If anything, we're seeing larger down payments and lower loan to value on properties which make these properties more secure during market cycles. Most importantly, as the region and the country begins to emerge from the depths of the pandemic we're seeing a stronger economy driving more buyers and sellers into the market - so we expect these conditions to last for months if not a couple of years.
If you want to get more details about what this means for you or you want to create a plan for how best to approach this market, give us a call at 206.489.4920 or email us at Info@ReeceHomes.com.
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