January 2022 Market Report
We hope everyone had a happy holiday. We’re back again with another real estate market report for Snohomish County, this time for the start of the new year! 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 the rest of 2022 and what our expectations are for the Snohomish real estate market.
The Highlights
Starting with Sales Price, we are still seeing an increase in the average sales price year over year at 23%. This increases the average sales price for a single family home in Snohomish County to $734,000. This is the largest increase we have seen in a long time.
Slightly down from last month, New Listings are up 5% year over year, even though it certainly doesn’t feel like it. While there are more homes coming on the market than there were a year ago, they are still selling super fast because there is still a huge buyer back log.
Days on the market are at 5 days, no change from last month. This is a decrease of 45% from this time last year. To be honest, those five days are merely for the offer review time. If we had no offer review dates we would probably have homes selling in one day with so much interest and offers being put on each house that goes on the market.
Months of inventory supply, which helps understand how long it would take to sell every home on the market, is at about 0.5 months of inventory. This is a 44% decrease year over year. A 6 months inventory of homes is what most economists see as a balanced market. With low inventory and high demand, this quick cycling market in Snohomish County is making it extremely difficult for buyers.
What does this mean for buyers and sellers?
As a buyer, more inventory is coming. We are coming out of the slowest listing period of the year which is otherwise known as the holiday season. Most people avoid listing their home between Thanksgiving and New Years as they are busy with the many holiday festivities and want to spend quality time with their family versus packing up boxes and getting ready to move. Now with the holidays over, a lot of people that were holding back on listing have begun to get their houses on the market. This week alone there has been a flood of new listings. But, with the massive buyer backlog there is still a lot of competition for homes. Because of this you can still expect every home that you put an offer on will be a fight with houses averaging five to six offers. Make sure you have a strong strategy to make you offer stand out against the pack. There are 20 different variables we think about when constructing an offer, so keeping the important ones in mind like appraisal coverage, earnest money, inspection strategy and financing strategy, will help set you apart.
As a seller, now is the time to sell! The spring selling cycle is happening now in February in March so it is ideal to get your home listed before interest rates go up and inventory levels increase. We are predicting that come April and May there will be a lot more homes on the market which is direct competition for you.
What do we expect for the rest of 2022?
As a final statement on expectations for this market, we expect interest rates to rise after this initial spring selling cycle. We expect the rise in rates to provide some relief from inventory stress and keep some homes on market slightly longer, this has the potential to flatten rates and make it somewhat easier for 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