Summary
Decreased mortgage rates may be on the horizon.
- Interest Rates Holding Steady with No Clear Timeline for Reductions: Interest rates have decreased by 0.15% over the past month to 6.79%, and while the rate decrease is encouraging, it has yet to have a significant impact on prospective buyers’ purchasing power or prospective sellers’ willingness to give up low interest rate mortgages.
- Still Not Enough Inventory for Home Buyers: It would take less than two months to sell every home that is currently active in the NWMLS inventory. The four counties with the lowest months of inventory in March 2024 were Snohomish (0.8), King (1.23), Pierce (1.39), and Kitsap (1.41).
- Prices Continue to Rise: If you are waiting for prices to drop before entering the market, think again. With on-going limited inventory, the median sales price has continued to steadily rise with a year-over-year increase of 7.5%. Even the median sale price of condominiums has increased more than 5% year-over-year.
- Timing the Market May Be Impossible: With interest rates holding steady, inventory levels remaining low and prices continuing to rise (although slower than recent years), buying or selling should depend on your overall real estate goals, not speculation.
The Details
There were 8,100 active listings on the market at the end of March 2024, a slight increase of 1.2% when compared to March 2023 (8,007). Although the overall number of homes on the market increased, active inventory decreased in 6 counties, including Adams (-29.17%), Snohomish (-23.15%), Whatcom (-16.82%), Clallam (-10.24%), King (-6.8%), and Kitsap (-4.86%).
Interest rates have decreased by 0.15% over the past month to 6.79%, and while the rate decrease is encouraging, it has yet to have a significant impact on prospective buyers’ purchasing power or prospective sellers’ willingness to give up low interest rate mortgages.
There were 7,218 total residential units & condo units under contract (pending sales) in March 2024, a slight increase of around 1% when compared to March 2023 (7,136). Despite the slight overall increase, there were 6 counties that had more than a 6% year-over-year increase in the number of pending sales, including Okanogan (+29.41%), Clallam (+17.65%), Snohomish (+11.57%), King (+8.25%), Clark, (+8.22%), Lewis (+6.8%), and Adams (+6.67%).
For the Washington counties covered by NWMLS, March 2024 saw an 11.2% decrease in the number of closed sales year-over-year, although median sales prices have continued to steadily rise with a year-over-year increase of 7.5%. The total dollar value of closed sales for residential homes for this month was $3,685,299,238 and was $461,759,636 for condominiums.
“Still, there seems to be more buyers in the market than the available inventory. As a result, home prices continue to rise despite elevated mortgage rates and constrained affordability.”
A balanced market is considered to be 4 to 6 months by most industry experts. At the current rate of sales, it would take less than two months to sell every home that is active in the NWMLS inventory. The four counties with the lowest months of inventory in March 2024 were Snohomish (0.8), King (1.23), Pierce (1.39), and Kitsap (1.41).
Important takeaways from March’s data:
- The median sales price of homes increased in 19 out of 26 counties and decreased in 7 counties relative to March 2023. The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($850,000), San Juan ($750,000) and Snohomish ($730,000). The three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Pacific ($347,500), Grant ($325,000) and Columbia ($274,000).
- The number of homes on the market increased throughout Washington with 20 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year increase. Overall, there was a 1.16% year-over-year increase in active property listings in Washington counties covered by NWMLS.
- Six of the 26 counties included in the report saw an increase in the number of homes sold year-over-year, while 18 counties saw a decrease. Two counties, Ferry and Chelan, saw relatively no change in the number of year-over-year sales.
- Condominium sales dipped slightly in the NWMLS service areas, with 752 units sold in March 2024, which is a year-over-year decrease of slightly more than 1%. The median sale price of condominiums increased more than 5% year-over-year, from $470,000 in March 2023 to $495,000 in March 2024.
“With the 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently at 6.79% as of late March 2024, the purchasing power of prospective buyers remains constrained relative to a few years ago,” said Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington. “However, year-over-year inventory levels continue to increase – approximately 1% – relative to the previous year, and low levels of for-sale inventory continue to foster increased competition amongst buyers, producing nearly a 7.5% year-over-year increase in median home prices across the Washington counties covered by NWMLS.”
NWMLS also provided insights into consumer activities during the month of March 2024:
- The total number of showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software increased by 4% from February 2024 (106,055 showings) to March 2024 (109,781 showings).
- Key boxes located at listed properties were accessed 148,536 times in March 2024, a 23% increase from activity in February 2024 when they were accessed 120,303 times.
- Brokers seeking to further assist consumers as they navigate the market are making special note of properties that are eligible for the Down Payment Resource (DPR) program offered by NWMLS. In March 2024, there were 11,513 listed properties that were eligible for this program.
With interest rates holding steady and projected to decline later in the year, we continue to predict an increase in home purchase and sale activity throughout 2024.
Whether buying, selling, or investing in real estate, be sure to utilize the expertise, talent, and professionalism of our trusted real estate team. Let us know how we can help you achieve your real estate Wants, Needs, and Dreams.
*Information and statistics compiled and reported by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
