Is Seattle's Market Slowing Down?

Seattle's housing market has dominated the country for nearly two years. The latest S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Index revealed that Seattle's run on top has come to an end. Some speculate that the market is slowing down and a crash is on the horizon, but data in the report proves Seattle's strength.

A recent article from Seattle Times notes that the 21 month streak held by Seattle came to a close and even implies that the Seattle market may be headed into a downward spiral. Noting that the latest Case-Shiller Index only shows data through June, the article sees that the numbers don't show current trends or the whole picture of the current market. By including the staggering home price growth seen in suburbs, outside of King County, the data is skewed. So, is the market going to crash or is this just a cooldown?

After an impressive nationwide reign, our great city was bound to slow. Fueled by a growing economy people have flooded into the region, contributing to the competitive nature we've seen. Now that many buyers have purchased homes and are settling in, the demand is lessened. As noted in a recent King 5 article, "home price gains in Seattle are still far above the national average".

In fact, the average growth in Seattle was 12.8% while the national average was 6.2%. On top of that, the new average is down less than a percentage point from the average this time last year, which was 13.4%.

The economy is not growing at a rate as high, but it is still healthy. This is synonymous to the housing market, as there aren't as many buyers but there are still a healthy number of people shopping for homes. So now is not the time to worry, we have a healthy market that is simply slowing and it is not showing signs of an upcoming crash.