October 2021 Snohomish County Market Report
Wondering what in the world is going on in the real estate market? Mike Novak from the Novak Real Estate Team has the October residential real estate market report for Snohomish County. He gives us insights and details into what is happening at a hyper local level for prospective buyers in the area.
Recently there have been a lot of questions about price reductions, price increases, inventory levels, and all of these different dynamics going on in our market right now. So let’s jump into the data and then he’ll wrap it up with a conclusion, and to share with you what he thinks this all means for you as a buyer, seller, and also as a homeowner.
Let’s start with the average sale price which is hovering around $700,000, which is actually an increase of over 21% year over year (YoY). Next month we’re assuming it will go even higher, and making homes hard to afford in the coming months, especially if you’re a first-time home buyer.
If you’ve got a home you’re selling, hopefully your home has been going up in value as well. It’s actually less difficult to buy a home in the market where the rapid appreciation is occurring. But if you’re a first time home buyer, right now is a tough time to buy. We also don’t see these prices dropping anytime soon, as new listings are actually up 11% in volume which is great news. However, as we’re seeing more houses come on the market, overall homes for sale are down 45%, so there’s actually a lot less to see right now than this time last year. Closed sales are up 16%, so more homes are closing this year. As inventory levels continue to drop, prices will continue to climb.
One of the most concerning things I am hearing from folks right now is that they are wanting to wait for “the market to drop”. There is no actual real data to support a market price decrease or even flattening prices. In fact the data clearly shows that with record low inventory, and strong demand, that prices will continue to climb. If you are wanting to buy a $600,000 home and the market goes up 10% (half of what it appreciated in the last 12 months), you are now going to pay $660,000 for that home and have an increase of $300-$400 per month in your payment. If you are in the lower price ranges such as the low $400’s you could be completely priced out of the market one year from now.
How long it takes to sell a house when it goes under contract is also important to note. The average right now is 12 days, while the median is only 5 days on the market, which is a dramatic decrease of approximately 37-52% less time on the market nowadays. It’s still a very fast cycle, and the numbers equate to only half a month of inventory supply. Until the inventory levels go back up, we’re not going to see housing prices go down any time soon.
The percentage of listing price for a home is 105.6% right now, so homes are selling roughly 6% over list price on average. A new data point that we’re looking at is the number of showings per closed listing. Currently we’re looking at 23.4 showings before the home is sold, which seems like a lot of showings. We’ll keep tracking this new data point to see how it trends over the remainder of the year. If you’re a seller and only getting 10 or 12 showings, you should be getting more, like double that in this area!
What about the market for a buyer? From a buyer perspective, we saw as many as 30 offers on houses, showing just how difficult the buyer market is right now. Even though we aren’t seeing 30 offers on every house, most of them are getting 5-8 offers if the house is priced right and in good condition. So your mindset really does matter right now, and it is best to really prepare for when you do find that perfect home that you can be as competitive as possible just like the others.
One last thing to mention is Holiday home buying. With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, a lot of buyers pause their search to focus on family. This means there are plenty of opportunities if you’re a serious buyer, so take advantage of this time when many buyers will be busy with the Holidays, you might just be able to find your dream home!
If you are curious about your home’s current value, if you are a buyer considering entering the market but unsure where to start, or if you simply want to connect to chat about real estate shoot me a text or call directly on my cell at 360-393-0396.
Mike Novak
(360)-393-0396
mike@novakteam.com