MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Puget Sound housing supply dwindles as prices continue to climb

Jan 17, 2020, 12:03 PM | Updated: 12:09 pm

Seattle housing, home prices, housing market, squatters...

Puget Sound's housing prices continue to rise. (AP file photo)

(AP file photo)

Despite seeing a dip at the start of 2019, housing prices increased in the Puget Sound region in 2019, all while supply continued to dwindle.

Is Puget Sound’s short-lived housing slowdown officially over?

“Inventory shortages persisted throughout 2019,” said the Northwest Multiple Listing Service in a newly-released report on 2019’s housing market.

The NWMLS reported the addition of 110,040 listings in 2019, a 5.3 percent decrease over the previous year. All while the median price of single-family homes sold by NWMLS brokers jumped from $410,000 to $435,000 between 2018 and 2019.

According to a recent report from Redfin, that trend persisted in Seattle city limits as well, punctuated by a 6 percent increase in the median price of a home year-over-year, while seeing a 39.7 percent decline in available homes for sale.

Median home prices in Tacoma climbed 9.3 percent, paired with a massive 44.3 percent decline in inventory.

“Prices heated up in West Coast metros like Seattle and Los Angeles, which indicates the slowdown of 2019 has officially ended in these markets,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather.

Why Puget Sound millennials are finally looking to buy homes

That trend started in late 2019, when inventory began to dip dramatically across King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties.

“The most recent data certainly appears to bolster the idea of a ‘new normal,’ as we see the same trends continuing,” Coldwell Banker Bain President and COO Mike Grady predicted in November.

MyNorthwest News

Photo: On Monday, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced there will be 16 new preschool classrooms across Se...

Julia Dallas

Harrell’s office announces Seattle preschool slots for thousands of kids

Thousands more families will have the chance to start their children's Seattle preschool education earlier, thanks to a program launching.

56 minutes ago

Digital...

Micki Gamez

How parents can help prevent children from falling victim to online sex crimes

Chances are, if your teen has a cell phone or tablet, they either know someone or they have been the victim of an online sex crime because kids as young as seven are online more than ever. My interest in this story began almost the same time last year when my daughter came home and […]

5 hours ago

Pierce County Jail...

Bill Kaczaraba

Pierce County Corrections chief at odds with the employee guild

The Corrections Bureau's Guild has issued Patti Jackson a vote of 'no confidence,' as reported by The Tacoma News Tribune.

6 hours ago

Image: A Seattle Police Department vehicle seen during the day...

Sam Campbell

Security guard stabbed, suspect barricades inside Beacon Hill apartment

SWAT officers surrounded a complex in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood after police said a man stabbed a guard barricaded himself inside.

8 hours ago

seattle indecent exposure...

Frank Sumrall

Seattle man arrested for 14 counts of indecent exposure, most near schools

A 34-year-old man was arrested by Seattle police (SPD) in connection to 14 counts of indecent exposure near Lake Forest Park.

8 hours ago

Federal Way shootings...

Bill Kaczaraba

Federal Way Police say two shootings are related

Police believe two shootings in Federal Way are related.

10 hours ago

Puget Sound housing supply dwindles as prices continue to climb