Eastside weekly wrap-up: prices and rates climb higher to start July
As we head firmly into the second half of the year, the market continues to get tougher for buyers, and in turn, sellers. Median sales price for single-family homes on the Eastside have continued to increase. At the end of June, this came in at $1,585,050. That’s up 20% from the beginning of the year but down slightly from June of 2022 when the median sales price was $1,600,000. Condos are up 18% from the beginning of the year with a median sales price of $612,500. Despite interest rates being consistently above 7% the last few weeks, low inventory and steady demand has continued to drive prices higher this year. Rates would likely need to drop significantly to drive prices back to the peaks of March and April of 2022 (rates were around 5% then).
Coming off the 4th of July, we saw 146 new listings hit the Eastside market, a 40% increase week-over-week. Not a surprising bump given that most sellers are advised to not list prior to the holiday weekend. Buyers put 105 homes under contract, matching the number of new listings the week prior. Active inventory sits at 677 homes for sales (as of this morning) on the Eastside and the median days on market for active listings is 40 days. Don’t sleep on new listings though! In June, the median days on market was just 6 days. This home in Redmond received seven offers with just three days on market and this home in Bellevue went pending with just one day on market.
What to expect going forward? Prices will likely cool slightly as interest rates stay above 7%. Several of the buyers I’m talking to are adjusting their budgets to account for this. But don’t expect a sharp drop in prices unless there’s an influx of inventory. There should be another week or two of medium-high levels of new listings before we roll into the slowest part of the summer (end of July through August). If you’re patient there is normally a bump in listings after Labor Day as well.
Looking for strategies on buying and selling in this market? Just shoot me an e-mail and we’ll get coffee!
