DANNY VARONA

View Original

Q3 2021 Market Update For The Greater Seattle Area

After the initial quarantine of the pandemic, many analysts commented on the outlier trend of residential housing sales. One year later, an examination of the data by Realogics Sotheby's International Realty reveals that from the Eastside to Bainbridge Island, the lack of inventory and the flood of purchasers was not an isolated incident. For those who are following the trendlines now, the question is when will median sales prices begin to level out and the number of homes available for sale begin to rise again.

Seattle   |   Single-Family Homes

The price per square foot in Emerald City has grown by 11% from this time last year. This is higher than the year-over-year median sales price increase of over 6% in Q3-2021, when the median sales price was $908,000, up from $857,000. In this seller's market, there is only.7 months of inventory available, with 43 percent fewer properties for sale. Despite this, there was only a 4% increase in the number of residences sold year over year. In the third quarter of 2020, 2,184 single-family homes were sold, compared to 2,272 in the third quarter of 2021.

Eastside   |   Single-Family Homes

The median sales price for properties on the Eastside is up nearly 30% year over year. This is only the second-highest rise among the areas studied by Realogics Sotheby's International Realty for quarterly reporting. As a result, the price per square foot has increased by little over 30%. Homes are on the market for an average of nine days, up from an all-time low of one week in Q2-2021, but still much slower than the then-considered quick pace of 2020. The shortage of homes for sale is perhaps the most remarkable feature—only half of what was available this time last year was on the market. Despite this, buyer demand remained strong, with the number of closed home sales increasing by slightly under 4%.

Mercer Island   |   Single-Family Homes

The 114 residences sold on Mercer Island had an average time on market of just 11 days. Although the average market time was not the lowest, at only a week and a half, interested buyers needed to act quickly and have an offer ready—and that offer almost certainly needed to be higher than the asking price. The median sales price of residences on the island grew by approximately 38%. With half as many properties for sale as there were in Q3 of 2020, the.4 months of inventory tipped the balance in favor of the sellers. It's an excellent moment to be a seller on Mercer Island, with a square foot appreciation that matches the median sales price and continued buyer interest.

Bainbridge Island   |   Single-Family Homes

On Bainbridge Island, the gains are consistent and predictable. The median sales prices for a residential home on the island have increased year over year since the third quarter of 2020. The median sales price has increased about 22% year over year, from $1,049,000 to $1,278,000. The number of residences for sale on the island has dropped dramatically, by 63 percent. This is consistent with trends from the first and second quarters, when the number of residences for sale on Bainbridge reached a high of 20 in Q2. Even so, this seller's market isn't as fierce as other of the markets studied by Realogics Sotheby's International Realty for its quarterly reporting—half a month's worth of inventory is available.

Seattle   |   Condominiums

Many city dwellers have been wondering where the Seattle condo market is headed. It's still a seller's market, but the condo market has the greatest inventory, at 1.5 months, among the sectors evaluated by Realogics Sotheby's International Realty for its quarterly reports. That's the same amount of inventory as in Q2-2021, but it's much less than the 2.6 months of inventory available in Q1-2021. Nonetheless, it remained an ideal time for purchasers to enter the market. This quarter, the median sales price fell 2.5 percent, and the average price per square foot fell a percent as well.

Find even more detailed market data and analysis by neighborhood or zip code by signing up for Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s monthly automated market tracker reports.