NW Seattle Real Estate Market Update
Seattle continues to be a hot sellerβs market! The market is even hotter now than it was during the 2006 housing boom. Does that mean that we are heading toward another crash like in 2008?
Whatβs going to happen?!
In this video we discuss some of the factors that could have an impact on the future of the housing market. There are a lot of unknowns in 2020. One thing we know for sure is that if youβve been considering selling your home, right now is a really good time. Inventory is very low so there is not much to compete with! You may end up getting more for your home than you thought you were able to!
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Steve π² (c) 206-769-9577 π§stevehill@windermere.com
Sandra π² (c) 206-271-7100 π§sbrenner@windermere.com
The real estate market is hotter now than it was back in 2006 during the housing boom. With the housing market being so similar today to back in 2006 right before the crash, many homeowners in Seattle and the Greater Puget Sound region are worried about the market crashing just like it did in 2008. The good news right now is that nationally, foreclosures and short sales according to the National Association of Realtors represented less than 1% of the sales in August.
We totally understand your concerns. We were selling homes back when the market crashed. We saw on average about a 1/3 decrease in home prices. We helped many homeowners navigate through short sales and foreclosure. It was a really sad time for everybody. So the question that many people are wondering, “Is that going to happen again?” Honestly, as experienced as I am in real estate, I just don’t know. All we can do is look at the facts as much as possible. One thing we all can be certain of is that there isn’t much to be certain about. And I’m not trying to be a pessimist, but it’s also very important to be as much of a realist as possible. We cannot truly foresee what the housing market will do.
One thing we know is that there are still a lot of people losing their jobs and we are still seeing many local restaurants and small businesses close down. It’s a really scary time for everybody. We also don’t know how long this is all going to last and what the residual economic impact will be on the economy as a whole and on our local real estate market.
Here are a few things we do know as of right now. As the information changes, my viewpoint may also change before this video even gets out. But as of now, what we are seeing locally in the northwest Seattle neighborhoods such as Broadview, Ballard and Greenlake is that homes are selling very quickly. The lower the price of the home, the more offers and competition we are seeing. Recently we had two homes that each received around eight offers. That means 14 buyers did not get a home.
Because of the low inventory, in certain price points in Seattle, it is super competitive for buyers, which makes it a definite seller’s market. In my humble opinion, there are several reasons for this. One is that a lot of sellers were holding off earlier in the year due to the uncertainty of what’s happening in our world. Also, interest rates being at nearly record lows, allow more buyers to enter the market. With the market looking so good, many people are asking if I feel it will continue to significantly go up. I must advise that I do not foresee the market going up significantly over the next year. I feel that once the election is over and the president settles in, then we may see a negative effect of what’s happening globally take a toll on the housing market. I just can’t see with all of the jobs that are being lost and businesses both locally and nationally closing down, how that can’t eventually have a negative impact on the housing market.
So throughout my 16 years in this industry and Sandra’s 17 years, when sellers in the past have come to us around this time and asked if we think it is a good idea to sell now, with the holidays around the corner, oftentimes we’ve recommended that if they can wait to list, it was probably better and to try to list their home right after the holidays and to shoot to have their home ready to be active for sale by around mid-January or so. In previous years, we’ve often recommend waiting. However, 2020 is certainly not a normal year and that is not what we are recommending now when sellers call and ask our opinion.
We think now is an opportune time to sell given the low interest rates, lower levels of inventory and high buyer demand, plus the uncertainty of home prices going up significantly next year. We believe now is a great time to be selling. Hope that helps everyone and please reach out to us if you have any further questions or need any additional help.
We are Steve and Sandra, elevated service, elevated results.
