December 2021 Snohomish County Real Estate Market Report
We’re winding down 2021, and in this video, Mike is going to talk about some of the Snohomish County real estate market data points we’re seeing from the end of November until mid-December. He’s also going to talk about what buyers and sellers should expect from the real estate market in 2022.
December 2021 Market Report
Merry Christmas! We hope everyone had a happy holiday. We’re back again with another real estate market report for Snohomish County, this time for the end of November to about mid-December. So, let’s talk about some of the key data points we’re seeing right now. We’ll talk about how buyers and sellers can be prepared in this hyper competitive market, and finally we’ll provide some insight for 2022 and what our expectations are for the Snohomish real estate market.
The Highlights
First things first — sales price. Sales price in Snohomish County is currently $722,000. A year ago the median sales price in Snohomish County was $589,000; that’s a 22% increase year over year.
New listings in December are up 7% year over year, but it really doesn’t feel like it, and that’s because the total number of homes for sale are down 41% from a year ago. What that means is that, while there are more new listings in December 2021 than there were in December 2020, homes are selling so fast that the total available inventory is down. Homes are selling faster than new listings can keep up.
Days on Market is at 5 days, and once again, that’s down from a year ago. It’s down 50%, and this is a trend we’ve been seeing every month from a year over year perspective. In fact, offer review dates are essentially the main contributing factor that’s keeping the days on market even at 5 days. It’s safe to assume that if sellers weren’t using offer review dates, they would be accepting offers much sooner, and the days on market metric would be significantly lower than 5 days, especially for the highly competitive pool of homes under $700,000.
Months of inventory supply, which is a metric that expresses how long it would take to sell every home currently on market without adding new homes to inventory, is at 0.5 months. That’s a 44% decrease from December 2020, and to put in perspective how significant that number is, it’s commonly accepted that a stable and balanced market usually sees about 6 months of inventory supply. This quick cycling of inventory is giving buyers no relief in the Snohomish County real estate market.
What does this mean for buyers and sellers?
Let’s start with buyers first. It feels like nothing is on the market. For the average buyer in Snohomish County, they will see one or two homes a week that match what they’re looking for come to market. Again, there are more new listings year over year, but inventory is selling much faster than it was even a year ago.
Buyers are also going to need to expect to fight on every home offer they submit. So, what does expecting a fight mean? It means be prepared. It means you need a game plan, a strategy for things like earnest money, appraisal, inspections, and financing. You need to be prepared for everything within your control, and you need to create a plan for the possibility of the occurrence of things outside of your control. This is a highly competitive market that is rewarding prepared buyers.
And lastly for the buyer: historically it would take us 2-3 weeks to find a buyer a home, from the time of first meeting, to the time of offer. We are now looking at a period of up to 6 months from the first meeting with the client to handing them the keys to their new home. So, if you’re thinking about buying a home in June of next year, then you really need to start the buying process today. Keep the preparation we talked about in mind; the last thing you want at the end of a 3-6 month process is to feel rushed and unsure if it’s the right home for you.
For sellers, January is a great time to list. We’re calling it the new spring market. We’ve been seeing more and more new homes come on the market in January, and a lot of buyers who paused their searches for the holidays are ready to go and are actively searching in the beginning of the year.
Second for sellers: anyone can sell a home in this market, but not anyone can sell a home for the most amount of money. This is a simple market to place a home on the NWMLS and let the buyers’ agents present you offers, but the final selling price is going to be determined by how well your home has been marketed, advertised, and how aggressive negotiations have been. This means that who you list your home with is very important. The competitiveness of this market demands proven, seasoned agents who have a plan and strategy on how to market your home.
What do we expect for 2022?
As a final statement on expectations for this market, we expect interest rates to rise a bit next year. That could provide some relief from inventory stress and keep some homes on market slightly longer, which would be nice, but it could also make buying a new home a little more difficult, especially for first time home buyers.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to call or text Mike Novak at the number below.
Mike Novak
(360)-393-0396
mike@novakteam.com