S&P Dow Jones issued their April 2021 CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index as Seattle sweltered under the heat dome in late June. The index revealed historic residential price increases across the board, with just Chicago falling short of a 10% year-over-year increase. Seattle and San Diego, with gains of 20.2 percent and 21.6 percent, respectively, continued to outperform their West Coast counterparts.

For Tax Day, executives from Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR), Caliber Home Loans, and O’Connor Consulting Group released research demonstrating that new tenants who chose to live in brand-new, luxury apartments rather than purchasing a similar condominium had paid more than $50 million in unrecoverable lease payments (or $218,983 individually) over the last decade. Meanwhile, the average renter lost out on an estimated $288,934 in average capital appreciation over the same time period, as well as $9,228 in income tax deductions in 2020.

As home prices in the Seattle metro area continue to rise, affordability has become an increasingly elusive goal, as has timed the market for developer incentives and today's historically low, but rising, interest rates. According to The Seattle Times, condominium sales in Seattle increased 121.2 percent year over year, while median prices increased 4.5 percent compared to April 2020.

The strongest headwinds caused by COVID-19 in 2020 were in urban centers across the country. According to S&P/Case-Shiller reports, Downtown Seattle was not sheltered, despite the Seattle metro area commanding the highest aggregate median home price increases in the U.S. for most of the year.

A year ago, additional space and extra amenities had a very different feel for homebuyers. Today, the health crisis has brought to light how valuable more square footage and carefully designed floorplans can be. Home offices, multi-purpose rooms, gyms, and theaters are becoming more popular, and some families are finding the space they need for these upgrades in the luxury market.

There has been much talk around the possibility that Americans are feeling less enamored with the benefits of living in a large city and now may be longing for the open spaces that suburban and rural areas provide.

Like many Americans, Seattleites are moving for a variety of different reasons. The current health crisis has truly re-shaped our lifestyles and our needs. Spending extra time where we currently live is enabling many families to re-evaluate what homeownership means and what they find most important in a home. According to Zillow…

Whether you're thinking of buying or selling a home this year, there are perks today that are rarely available, and definitely worth looking into. Here are the top two.

Here's how Danny Varona is helping buyers and sellers in Seattle stay safe without completely putting off their home buying/selling journey.

At the start of last year, many of the more expensive homes listed for sale hadn’t seen as much interest, since much of the demand for housing over the past few years has come from first-time buyers looking for starter homes. It looks like buyer activity, however, is starting to show a shift in this segment.

Many believe when real estate values are increasing (in cities like Seattle), owning a home becomes less affordable. That misconception is not necessarily true.

Americans are on the move, and the most recent Atlas Van Lines Migration Patterns Survey tracked the 2019 traffic flow from state-to-state. Idaho held on to the top spot of ‘high inbound’ states for the second time since 2017, followed by Washington State.

Regardless of the lack of inventory on the in the US and local Seattle market, the U.S. homeownership rate has climbed to a 6-year high. The United States Census Bureau reported that it increased to 65.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, representing the highest level in the past six years.

When buying a home in Seattle, we all want to feel like we’re making the right decision, paying a fair price, and making the best investment of our lives. According to a recent gender-based study, men and women can unknowingly walk away with very different financial outcomes when the deal closes.

When the number of buyers in the housing market outnumbers the number of homes for sale, it’s called a “seller’s market.” The advantage tips toward the seller as low inventory heats up the competition among those searching for a place to call their own.

There’s more room to entertain a large crowd.

The kitchen is big enough to whip up endless appetizers – yum!

You don’t have to worry about complaints to your landlord when the cheering kicks in!

If you’re following what’s happening in the current housing market in Seattle, you’ve seen how the lack of newly constructed homes is a major reason there’s a shortage of housing inventory available to today’s buyers.