Puget Sound Housing Market Heats Up After A Slow January

KIRKLAND, WA — Signs of an early spring thaw for Puget Sound's housing market were already emerging in February, with new listings making a big rebound on the heels of a noticeably slow January, according to local realtors.

Kirkland-based Northwest Multiple Listing Service released its monthly findings this week, tracking the trends among 32,000 brokers working in 26 Washington counties. The February report found more sellers returning to the market and providing an antidote to "pent-up demand."

Brokers across the region added close to 8,000 listings in February, up nearly 7 percent from the same time in 2021 and a surge of nearly 33 percent from January. King County saw the choices grow even further, and buyers with the means to compete answered the call.

"Buyers in King County are jumping for joy over the nearly 40% increase in listings that we saw in February compared to January," said Matthew Gardner, Windermere Real Estate's chief economist. "No surprise, the result was a 31% increase in pending home sales month-over-month, as well."

On the state level, accepted offers were on par with the same time in 2021 and about 21 percent higher than in January. Prices, which surged ever higher last year, continued their upward trend. Overall, the NWMLS sad the median prices for single-family homes and condos were up 14.3 percent from February 2021 and another 5.4 percent higher than January. All but three counties saw major increases.

Gardner said some of the most popular — and priciest — spots for single-family homes on the Eastside were in West Bellevue, West Lake Sammamish and Redmond, along with Seattle's Ballard, Magnolia and Queen Anne neighborhoods.

Despite the surge in pricing and recently improved inventory, realtors said buyers are likely to face stiff competition across the region for a long time.

"It seems even homes that wash up on the beach are getting multiple offers," said Dick Beeson, managing broker at RE/MAX Northwest Realtors. "The sound of interest rate increases is ever nearer, and when coupled with the enormous prices increases for homes around Puget Sound, the wringing of buyers' hands will surely be a sad tale of 2022. There's no relief in sight."

One broker told the NWMLS that he recently saw a prospective buyer offer $250,000 above the asking price on a $2 million listing in the Wallingford neighborhood, only to lose out to a buyer who upped the ante by several hundred thousand dollars.

Another realtor said the market appeared unlikely to see any meaningful correction on prices, due to multiple factors, including high growth rates for high-paying jobs, willingness to commute along major corridors and "investor interest in residential rentals."

However, with better inventory, the intense competition for each listing could lessen and the pace of price increases could slow from double-digits to single digits.

Here is a look at some of the median and average prices for closed home and condo sales around the region in February:

• King County
  • Average price: $955,497
  • Median price: $759,735
• Pierce County
  • Average price: $582,120
  • Median price: $526,000
• Snohomish County
  • Average price: $791,893
  • Median price: $700,250
• Kitsap County
  • Average price: $595,704
  • Median price: $525,000
• San Juan County
  • Average price: $1,640,818
  • Median price: $720,000