Urgency Builds in Seattle's Housing Market
It’s no secret the housing inventory in King County is at a record low. Pending sales in Western Washington far outnumber the new and active listings, in part due to the increased selling turnaround times. Any new listing moves almost immediately into pending or sold, which further exacerbates the low total of active listings.
Last month, active listings totaled 2,605 less than that of a year ago, across 23 counties. Single family home listings in King County have dropped from the healthy count of 5,378 of five years ago, to 1,569. Although there is no positive relief to be expected in the near future, there are momentary instances of increased inventory. Unfortunately, even in these brief periods, the active listings tend to immediately move into pending.
A high velocity market leads to huge increases in home and condo costs, which means families are moving north to find more affordable housing. Meanwhile homes are being put on the market in conditions that would otherwise not be successful, and buyers are ignoring repairs and maintenance issues in order to secure the property. With no long term solution in sight, the Seattle housing market will continue to be a chaotic one.