Washington Real Estate Market & Where We’re Headed

Those of us who watch the real estate market and see the patterns and trends are starting to become concerned with the direction our market is taking. With that said, seasoned agents with their ear to the ground know there is hope. It is true, with more inventory available in the Washington State market, decreased home prices, and announcements of increases in lending limits, it has become a buyer’s market. However, could this be a sign of a changing economy?

The graph above indicates the Washington real estate market has nearly a billion less in value than the previous month. This also shows opportunity will be lower this Dec than the previous year and moving towards a position of sales we saw in the spring are highly doubtful, as the percentage growth would be drastic. Hopefully we are wrong with this. However, the market corrections and current economic climate would suggest otherwise.

Some would suggest a balancing in the market, however the second graph shows us the number of homes for sale vs. sold. In the ideal world we would like to see these two bars closer together as indicated at the beginning of 2018. However, towards the end of the year we can see the two bars moving further apart showing ample inventory. We can see there is ample inventory for buyers to choose from, and with the holiday season being the slowest for the real estate market it is uncertain.

Northwest MLS states that closed sales declined roughly 15.3% from twelve months ago with 13 counties reporting double-digit drops. Has your brokerage shared the available data to help guide your clients through rough seas? Our assumption is the larger brokerage firms will want to continue to push their agents to produce with minimum guidance. From my perspective, working with a boutique brokerage offers more leverage, personal insight and a higher percentage of compensation for the efforts. Agents working with Brokerages such as Better Properties Eastside will continue to see benefits simply by their structure, willingness, and being nimble to accommodate agents in a market heading downward.

They are not publicly traded, nor tied to investors that require the company to make massive profits. They are a family run business and treat their agents as such. As agents, we would suggest taking the time and exploring your options that will best serve the clients and your needs.