Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Welcome to my May 2024 Market Update!
About three months ago, my team and I made the following prediction: “If you’ve been wanting to sell your home this year and have been waiting for a real boom in the market, it looks like you may have one this spring.”
The trends we observed back then have now come to fruition. This, despite the mortgage interest rates jumping into the low- to mid-7% range on April 1st. The market is absolutely thriving!
Let’s take a look at the data for single family homes in King County.
In April we saw a sharp rise in the number of new listings that had come on the market, and a corresponding increase in the number of listed homes that received an offer and went pending, and the number of deals that closed. These are all markers of a strong real estate market.
Not surprisingly, this strong market activity saw an equally strong increase in home prices, reaching very near the peak prices from the spring of 2022.
Now, in recent blogs and vlogs, I told you about the pent-up demand and supply that built up during 2023. What’s interesting is that this pent-up demand and supply from 2023 happened while interest rates were basically the same as they are now, meaning in the low- to mid- 7% range. Back then, these same interest rates had a strong dampening effect on the market activity. Yet, here we are, with the same interest rate, but the market activity and home prices blowing past anything that we’d seen last year.
Take a look at the median prices for single family homes for both King County and for Seattle.
And just to be clear, these trends from last year and, again, this year, hold not just for King County, but for many other counties in our western Washington area and beyond.
By the way, 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.
So clearly, this pent-up demand and supply has created quite a momentum in our marketplace. I think that many buyers have internalized the idea, correctly, I might add, that they can always refinance their mortgage once interest rates come down.
And it’s worth noting that our favorite lender, Julie Johnson, from Cross Country Mortgage, offers a free refinance any time during the first 36 months after you buy your home, as long as you get your acquisition mortgage through her, of course.
Now, if you look at historical data, the number of new listings tends to peak just around this time every year. Once the number of new listings starts to decline, we see a corresponding decline in market activity overall. So, it will be very interesting to see what happens in the next few months. Will the forces that create those historical trends prevail again? Or will the momentum of the pent-up demand and supply win the day? If it’s the latter, then we’ll see continued strong activity for a while, even into the summer months, a time that, again, historically, tends to see slower market activity.
So if you, or someone you know, are considering buying or selling a home in the next few months, the market still has plenty to offer, no matter what. “Where to start?” you might ask. Start by getting the proper education that is custom tailored to your needs. My team and I offer free, no-obligation consultations, that will educate you on what you need to know for your specific needs. Our hope is that you’ll hire us because we’ll prove to you that we are the best team to represent you in your transaction, because we have the best knowledge, experience, and knowhow. And, by the way, we have the numbers to prove it.
You can easily refer your friends, family, or colleagues to us by email, or on my website at Weisbarth.com/refer. The best way, by far, is just to call me! I love talking with people about real estate and helping them figure out the best path to move forward. My direct phone number is 206-779-9808, that 206-779-9808. So, don’t be shy – just call me!
And remember that your business and referrals will directly help the kids and Childhaven, which recently merged with xxx and is now called Akin.
If you find this information helpful, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with anyone you know who's thinking about selling or buying a home now or in the future.
I'm Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Thank you for watching. Have a great rest of your spring, and I’ll see you next month!