WA real estate market surges despite rate constraints

The Northwest Multiple Listings Service (NWMLS) unveiled its April market report Monday, revealing a surge in real estate activity despite challenges posed by rising mortgage rates.

Whether you're in the market to buy a home or considering selling, keep reading for the latest market updates and trends.

Seattle real estate market overview

The Seattle real estate market is aligning with typical seasonal trends, anticipating further upticks in activity as spring transitions into summer. However, with mortgage rates climbing by 0.38 percentage points in the past month to 7.17%, prospective buyers face constrained purchasing power, while sellers are hesitant to relinquish low-interest rate mortgages. Nevertheless, April 2024 recorded a nearly 10% year-over-year surge in closed sales and an almost 8% increase in median sales prices across the 26 counties monitored by NWMLS, indicating cautious optimism within the market.

Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington, noted, "The increase in year-over-year sales transactions signals that buyers and sellers are beginning to adjust to the higher interest rate environment."

A RE/MAX LLC "For Sale" sign stands outside of a home in Seattle, Wash. (David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Highlights from April's data

Median home prices soared in 23 out of 26 counties compared to April 2023, with San Juan ($1,055,000), King ($875,000) and Snohomish ($738,000) counties registering the highest median sale prices. The three counties in Washington with the lowest median sale prices were Grant ($340,000), Adams ($331,500) and Okanogan ($317,000).
Inventory levels witnessed a substantial uptick across Washington, with 23 counties reporting a year-over-year increase, two observing a decrease, and one remaining relatively unchanged compared to April 2023.
Condominium sales experienced robust growth, with 858 units sold in April 2024, marking a 15.6% increase from the previous year. The median sale price for condos surged by 11.5% year-over-year.

"Despite interest rates increasing back into the low 7% range, year-over-year inventory levels have improved dramatically relative to April 2023," said Virant in the report. "It may take 4 to 6 months to be realized, but higher levels of for-sale inventory should soon have an impact on stabilizing price levels."

Active listings

According to the report, there were 9,813 active listings on the market at the end of April, representing an "increase of nearly 21% when compared to April 2023 (8,114)." The number of homes on the market also increased throughout Washington with 23 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year increase.

New listings

NWMLS brokers added 9,636 new listings in April, an increase of nearly 32% compared to April 2023. The five counties with the largest increase in the number of new listings in April were Chelan (+70.59%), followed by Kittitas (+70.21%), Douglas (+65.79%), Lewis (+53.26%) and Kitsap (+48.84%).

For more information, visit the NWMLS website.