Seasonal slowdown evident but industry watchers expect more supply and moderating prices

The total dollar value of November’s closed sales was more than $4.3 billion, a year-over-year increase of 31.7%.

“The missing piece of the equation for potential buyers continues to be affordability,” Northwest MLS said in a statement. The median price for single family homes and condos that sold during November was $645,000, up from the year-ago figure of $601,342.

First-time homebuyers make up fewer than one-fourth of purchasers, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors®. NAR said that is the lowest share in the 40-plus years it has tracked that figure.

Since January, prices are $51,500 higher, which equates to nearly 8.7%. Homes that sold last month in San Juan County commanded the highest median price ($857,500), followed by King County.

In King County, November’s active listings, pending sales, and closed sales all rose by double digits compared with the same month a year ago. Prices increased about 4.7%, from $799,925 to $837,350. With condos removed from the mix, the median price for last month’s closings in King County’s climbed to $925,000 (up 4.5% YoY). The median priced condo sold for $565,467, a 16.6% jump from a year ago.

Kittitas County experienced year-over-year double-digit surges in active listings (up 39.7%) and closed sales (up 30.6%), but only a 7.8% gain in pending sales. It was one of eight counties that saw a year-over-year drop in median prices. YoY prices in Kittitas County declined 17.7%, from $620,000 to $510,500.

Brokers reported 5,446 closed sales systemwide during November, a gain of 24.7% from twelve months ago. That’s a sharp contrast with October when the volume of mutually accepted offers fell 15.9%.

High mortgage rates are deterring activity, with little relief expected.

The rate on a 30-year mortgage as of November 27 was 6.81%. That’s lower than the year-ago rate of 7.22%, but when combined with rising asking prices, buying a home is out of reach for many would-be buyers. Others are proceeding with purchasing plans.

“Homebuyers are slowly digesting these higher rates and are gradually willing to move forward with buying a home, resulting in additional purchase activity,” said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

In its news release on November home sales, the National Association of Realtors reported year-over-year sales of existing homes bounced 6.1%, rising from 3.91 million in November 2023 to 4.15 million last month.

“More buyers have entered the market as the economy continues to add jobs, housing inventory grows compared to a year ago, and consumers get used to a new normal of mortgage rates between 6% and 7%,” stated NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

“Existing homeowners are capitalizing on the collective $15 trillion rise in housing equity over the past four years to look for homes better suited to their changing life circumstances,” Yun added.

Northwest MLS also reported month-to-month downturns in keybox activity and property showings last month:

• Keyboxes at listed properties were accessed 111,482 times in November, down 24% from October when they were accessed 146,608 times. Year-over-year, there was a 14% increase in activity.
• The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software decreased 23% last month compared to October but climbed 17% from the year-ago volume (84,997 versus 110,736).