Market Trends from the Third Quarter of 2018

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s new Quarterly Market Report outlines the latest real estate trends and what to look out for in Seattle and on the Eastside. While we approach a more balanced market for housing inventory, home prices continue to gradually rise for our region.

In quarter three of 2018, there was 2.7 months of inventory for both Seattle and the Eastside. Specifically for the Emerald City, inventory increased by 75-percent from last quarter and a sizeable 156.4 percent year-over-year. Amazingly, this is the most inventory buyers have found in Seattle since 2012. Over the past five years it has remained extremely low, dropping to a mere 0.4 months of supply in the fourth quarter of 2017. 

Although inventory is up, home values for the area have continued to appreciate, increasing in Seattle by 5.2 percent compared to last year at this time. However, on a quarterly basis for 2018, home appreciation is down by 6.8 percent, reflective of the season. The time a home spends on the market is relatively unchanged year-over-year with an average time of 18 days. On the Eastside, homes are also selling in under a month on average.

The median price for a single-family home in Seattle in quarter three of 2018 was $810,000 up from 2016’s median price of $675,000. On the Eastside, median home prices saw a 7.11-percent increase over the past year, a significant drop compared to the 14.8-percent increase from 2016’s third quarter to 2017’s third quarter. This could be good news for buyers, however, mortgage rates continue to climb and home prices on the Eastside remain high with a median of $889,000 for quarter three of 2018.