Expecting a late-fall slowdown were you?
As we slide into the holiday season, yes, the market should cool. Right? Well, yes. Normally. But anyone who’s been around the Seattle area in the last few years has probably noticed what the two graphs below show: Pending sale (homes going under contract) and the number of homes for sale have been moving in very opposite directions.
Pending Home Sales in King County vs. Homes For Sale (Last 3 Years)
If you are thinking of selling soon, there are many hungry buyers and there are no signs of things slowing down soon. HOWEVER, the bidding wars have slowed over the past few months as prices have caught up (a bit) to demand, and buyers have become more cautious.
Open House Confidential
At our last few open houses on Queen Anne and in Bellevue, the biggest questions we heard were:
- “How many offers do you think you’ll get?”
- “How many pre-inspections have you had?”
- “How high do you think it will go?”
Drumroll Please….
The Queen Anne listing received 2 offers and went for just $50,000 over asking. The Bellevue listing received one offer, at asking price. Fear is a HUGE driver, and if buyers expect that a listing will sell for $100,000 or more over the asking price and they will have to fork over $500 again for a pre-inspection, they are much less likely to make a move for anything less than love. (It’s hard to go through rejection 5 times before landing a home!)
But Alas
The demand is still strong, the buyers are still hungry, and this is going to continue. So sit back, relax, and gear up for battle if you are a buyer. At least on the plus side, the seasonal trend of fewer buyers in winter is still likely. It’s just that the hungry ones are hungier than ever before. (Oh, and try shopping on Seahawks game days. It’s still a thing.)
A Silver Lining, For Some
Or if possible, consider a new construction home. If you can snag one while it’s still in progress, you’ll avoid the bidding war altogether and if your timing is right, you may even be able to choose a few finishes.
Lest you thought that there was no downside to new construction, there is one important factor to consider: Most of the new construction is happening in the outer reaches, if you’re looking for a single-family home. The majority of new construction homes going up in Seattle are narrow, boxy townhomes. (Land is so expensive, developers have to fit several homes on a lot to be able to get their investment back out.)
Questions? I’m always here to chat! Ping me.