February 2025 Market Update
Can you believe it’s already February?!? The local real estate market seemed to be a bit sleepy in January. Prices were down from December and from last January. Homes that closed had been on the market longer, averaging 54 days on market. And those numbers were from only 48 closed homes. Winter market blues? Maybe, but maybe not. We typically see closed numbers as a reflection of the previous months pending sales closing. So, these numbers are more likely December’s numbers. In addition, there were 29 closed ‘condo’s’ not accounted for in these numbers. About 1/2 of those were townhome/ADU/DADU models. So that brings closed sales up number a bit. The most interesting take away is the 92 properties pending in January. About 46 of those received offers first week after list. That is an indicator of growing market activity. We would expect this trend to continue into February. We generally feel that the market starts after the Super Bowl (this weekend) but may have started a week or two before. The weather was fairly pleasant in January so makes sense. And February storms have been cold and snowy but not the shutting down type.
Pricing dipped the latter part of 2024, but you can see there is a seasonal incline (see 2022-24) that is common at the beginning of the year.
It’s also the time of year where we start to see escalations. Interest rates relatively higher than in past years so may dampen (more like 2024 than 2022). Time will tell. We’ve already seen and heard of some pretty competitive offer situations.
Closed sales were a small number so not a great indicator. You can see Seattle metro had a little bump. This maybe attributed to lower price points around the city making areas like Ballard, Green Lake and Cap Hill more affordable. We would expect WS number start to build off of last month homes going under contract.
As mentioned, pending numbers were the better indicator of a blossoming market, both in West Seattle and Metro. Buyers are actively buying whats on (or coming on) the market. We are starting to see homes getting multiple offers and coming off market fairly quick.
The big question is, what will come on the market in 2025? There were more Homes available in 2024 than 2023 but under 2020. Different years bring different motivations. We should start to see what/if any trends developing fairly shortly.
If we look just at West Seattle, 2020 had a lot of listings (covid and WS Bridge being down). 2021 began the lower interest rate buying boom and with interest rates rising in mid-2022 we see the locked in effect. Homes available does seem to be trending up but time will tell. At some point, sellers may just stop playing the waiting game (rates, elections, etc…) and get on with it.
Final look at Seattle Metro numbers. Same take away as WS numbers, with the higher pending numbers the highlight. We’d expect the same going forward as spring is typically the strongest part of the year. It’s great for sellers but also the best choices for buyers. They may end up paying more but may get the house or area they desire most.
Rates remain fairly high but have shown signs of moving back to high 6s (or buy downs available. Higher interests have not been a deterrent for recent home buyers. They just seem like the new reality. Rates are not expected to change much this year.
Affordability and securing a home will likely remain a challenge.