Report: Seattle housing market continues downward trajectory

According to the latest report from the Case-Shiller home price index, the Seattle housing market cooldown is continuing full steam ahead.

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Home prices in the Seattle metro area fell by 0.6 percent month-over-month in December, while year-over-year prices grew 5.1 percent, the smallest margin since 2012. Additionally, that 5.1 percent growth is roughly consistent with the national average of 4.7 percent.

Diving deeper into the numbers, price growth for the area’s most expensive houses (over $620,000) saw an increase of just 3 percent, while prices for the least expensive homes (under $390,000) grew 9 percent. Home prices between $390,00 and $620,000 went up 5 percent.

Essentially what we’re seeing is people getting priced out of more expensive areas in Seattle and Bellevue, flooding more affordable markets in Pierce and Snohomish Counties, and in turn, driving up prices in those cheaper markets.

Available, unsold homes in those expensive markets almost doubled from the previous year as a result.

The median price for a home in King County in January was $610,000, $455,000 in Snohomish County, and $330,000 in Pierce County.

King County’s median prices decreased year-over-year from $628,388 in 2018. Snohomish saw an increase from $450,000 last year. Pierce County’s home prices are also up from $312,925.

The drop in King County is the first year-over-year decrease in the area since 2012, while interest rates have hovered near a nine-year low according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

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