Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Welcome to my June 2024 Market Update! Today, I’m going to take you on a journey through the latest real estate trends in our beloved Seattle area, and then put things in some historical perspective. Let’s dive right in!
So, at the beginning of every month, I eagerly await the updated dataset from the NWMLS. This data helps me and my team gauge if our gut feelings about the market trends from the previous month are on point. Staying in tune with our local market's pulse is crucial because it allows us to provide the best possible advice to both our buyer and seller clients.
While recent data about our local market is essential, keeping a broader perspective on our local market trends is equally important. If you look at popular media outlets, you'll often find national analyses that have little relevance to our local real estate market. And even when it’s local information, at best, you might see a type of shallow analysis called ‘year-over-year’, which can be very misleading and most of the time is incomplete.
So now that you understand this point, let’s talk about the latest data from May 2024. The trends we’ve seen over the past few months haven’t changed in any meaningful way. We still have plenty of new listings, plenty of homes receiving offers and going pending, and plenty of sales.
Correspondingly, market prices have continued to trend upwards.
What I want to do next is take a broader perspective to see how things look from a historical standpoint. I like doing this exercise every few months to help keep perspective, and to make sure that the trends are consistent and that we’re not noticing any aberrations.
What you’re looking at here is the dataset starting in January 2014, so just over 10 years aga. To make things a bit clearer, I smoothed out the data by presenting each data point as the average of the trailing three months. This method allows us to easily see the seasonal cycles of market activity in the ‘Closed Sales’ dataset. And you can easily see that while market activity this year is higher than last year, it’s still low overall. This is a result of the low number of new listings that we’ve had for quite a while.
As for the median price, you can see the obvious upward trends. While some fluctuations may appear seasonal, there are other, more significant factors that better explain these changes in median prices. I’ll dive into those factors in a future newsletter, so stay tuned!
As usual, if you want to look at this data and read my report at your pace and leisure, you’ll find all this information in my May newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter, that’s Weisbarth.com/Newsletter.
Again, the point of this exercise is to confirm that, overall, our real estate market is stable and predictable despite mortgage rates, inflation, wars, COVID, etc. Knowing and understanding this
fact is incredibly important for any buyer or seller. It gives you the confidence to make decisions long term.
So, if you or anyone you know is considering buying or selling a home this year, please refer them to me and my team at Weisbarth & Associates. We’re here to provide guidance and ensure you make informed decisions to maximize your results. We’ll gladly meet with anyone and give customized education and advice, to make sure that you or your referral is making the best decision.
It's easy to refer your friends, family, or coworkers to us. You can connect us by email, or send a message through my website and Weisbarth.com/refer. And you want to know what’s the best way to reach me? The best way to reach me, by far, is by phone at 206-779-9808. It’s always a great way to start a nice relationship, don’t you think?
And remember, your business and referrals help the kids at Childhaven, which now, goes by their new name, Akin, so you’re doing a good deed too! It can’t get any better than this!
Please remember to like, subscribe, and follow for more great insights, charts, and tips on my monthly vlog. And don’t forget to read our monthly newsletter at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter.
I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Have a great June, Happy Father’s Day, happy almost summer, and I’ll see you next month!