CoBuy Greater Seattle Housing Market Update – May 2018

We surveyed 20 top real estate pros from our network of agents, loan officers, and builders in and around Seattle to get the skinny on what’s going down in the Seattle housing market. Data is a funny thing – often sliced, diced, and compiled to suit a purpose. Our goal is simple: ask people who are well-positioned in the market what they’re seeing. We asked 10 multiple choice questions + 1 open-ended question, and we’ll do the same next month.

And the beat goes on…

Sounding like a broken record and, NO, this is not a recycled bit of prose from last month or the month before. It is simply true that Seattle’s housing market continues to remain hot. According to Mike Rosenberg of the Seattle Times, “Single-family home costs across the metro area grew 12.7 percent in February from a year earlier, the biggest increase in the nation for the 18th month in a row. Job growth and low supply are two drivers behind this appreciation.

For buyers, this makes creativity, preparedness, and persistence imperative to success in today’s market. It also means affiliating with the best in the business is crucial. Real estate is a team sport and requires incredible coordination and communication amongst the professionals you rely on to help you achieve your goals and objectives when buying a home. It starts with a great loan officer and continues with an equally capable real estate agent acting as quarterback.

At CoBuy we continue to see friends and family members teaming up and pooling resources in order to increase their purchasing power. Not only does this allow folks to take advantage of economies of scale, but it results in buyers gaining access to homes at higher price points. Recent CoBuy groups have included sisters, pairs of married couples, married couples and a friend, intergenerational households, and investors.

Key Takeaways

The vast majority of respondents expect home prices to rise over the next 3 months

Competition amongst buyers has marginally intensified vs. last month

Inventory shows slight signs of improvement month on month

Buyer traffic has ticked up marginally over the past month

75% of respondents said buyers are placing 3+ offers before having an offer accepted

Most listings are receiving at least 4 offers

Seller concessions remain rare

Some respondents to our poll said they are seeing low appraisals come in

Here’s what some of our respondents had to say about the market:

“Hearing about a migration out the city. Folks are cashing out and investing in quality of life.”

“Starting to see appraisals coming in below purchase price.”

“We are seeing a slow down from the Spring buyer frenzy. More inventory at higher pricing has left some properties on the market longer. There should be a small correction in market value but the general trajectory will remain on the upswing in a continued sellers market.”

“I see that my clients are having to be a little more creative in terms of offers, down payment, etc. Also, expanding their thoughts of where they want to live, and the type of property. Just being more creative in general.”

“FSBOs (for sale by owner) tend to happen when sellers see that their home can fetch top dollars and they don’t understand the role of the professionals in the Purchase and Sale process. This makes times like these particularly dangerous for both sides of a transaction as people take an even more complex situation into their own hands. They try to navigate in an environment that the professionals are best trained and experienced to guide. This is where lawsuits happen. I have noticed that the increased competition for homes is pushing into the outlying areas, not just greater Seattle.”

Here’s what one CoBuy-certified™ Pro has to say about a recent purchase involving CoBuyers in Seattle.

Survey Responses

Here are the raw survey results from our network of real estate professionals:

For more info on how to get in on the housing market, check out CoBuy or subscribe to our mailing list. Our online platform makes it easy to buy a home with friends, family, or a loved one. We guide you through the process from start to finish, assisting with planning, joint financing, and preparing a co-ownership agreement.