Seattle Market Update
There is, yet again, no sign that Seattle’s seemingly never-ending market surge is letting up … quite the contrary. The local market has been getting increasingly more expensive for six straight years now and has soared a total of 82 percent during that time. In Seattle, the number of available homes for sale dropped 21% from last year. Seattle’s median home sale price climbed to $819,500 in March, gaining $43,000 in value over the last month.
High demand from buyers, coupled with rapidly decreasing inventory makes securing a house for most buyers a miracle. If you are a buyer in today’s market, be prepared to not only waive all contingencies that were traditionally used to protect the buyer but also pay $30k to 80k in Earnest Money, pay cash or have 30%+ down if financing the purchase and extra funds available to cure a low appraisal. Even with all that, it may not be enough to get that home you fell in love with. It is not uncommon for buyers to make 15 offers before they secure a home. Some buyers actually just give up and stay in their current home or keep renting because it is such an exhausting and frustrating journey at the moment.
Rents have cooled somewhat as a result of thousands of new units hitting the market.
Affordability of Housing Here vs. Elsewhere
The affordability index for homeownership is based on three factors: median single-family home price, 30-year monthly mortgage rates, and estimated median household income. The historic standard for “affordable” housing is that monthly housing costs do not exceed 30% of one’s income. So, affordability is a relative concept in housing. Markets that seem affordable, because their median home price is lower than other areas, may actually be unaffordable for people who live there local wages don’t keep up. The following 3 markets were the most affordable among the 50 largest metro areas at the end of 2017: Oklahoma City, OK, Pittsburgh, PA and Indianapolis, IN. The three least affordable metro areas were San Jose, CA, Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA. Here is a complete list of the 10 most and least affordable metro areas: https://www.zillow.com/research/most-affordable-markets-homes-18906/ . Ready to move to Oklahoma City? We are happy to refer you to an agent elsewhere and will prescreen them for you to make sure they are the right fit for you. Just let us know.
Did you know?
You can save money and reduce water and pesticide use by applying wood-based mulch or compost to your garden beds this spring. Natural mulch materials suppress weeds, hold water and promote plant growth by providing nutrients as they decompose. So, get out there during the brief moments of sunshine we have this time of the year to soak in the sun and prep your beds for this summer.
We’d love to hear from you
Any questions, comments, or feedback? Contact us any time, we’d love to hear from you … and if you are a seller, it is your market, give us a call. We’d love to provide you with a free pricing analysis on your home and offer you proven strategies on how to get the most money for your home in this hot seller’s market. It might not be what you would think …
Thank you,
Krisanne and Kerstin
Brooks & Heinze Team
at Skyline Properties, Inc.
Kerstin Brooks: 206.276.5827
Krisanne Heinze: 206.920.2541
Email: info@propertyinseattle.com
Web: http://www.propertyinseattle.com
Kerstin G. Brooks, Broker 