Q1 2022 Western Washington Gardner Report

First quarter real estate numbers are in for Western Washington! Here are a few key highlights:

Inventory and sales volume levels are lower in most counties compared to one year ago
Pending sales outpaced listings by a factor of 6.7. This means that houses sold 6.7 times faster than they came to market
Prices continued to rise, averaging 16.4% higher in the year-over-year for a new average price of $738,152
During the first quarter, inventory was scant relative to the number of buyers which drove prices up
Mortgage rates were 3.11% at the end of 2021 and have started to creep up. In the first quarter of 2022, they jumped 1.5% which is the largest quarterly increase since 1987
Average days on market were 25. This number varied depending on county, price point, and type of housing
Snohomish, Pierce, and King counties showed the biggest drops in days on market
Matthew’s takeaways: These numbers do not suggest lowered demand despite rising interest rates, however headed into spring this could change. The biggest indicator to watch is list prices: When they start to drop, it could signal a market shift
Update: Recent large increases in interest rates and more inventory suggests we are currently experiencing a market shift hinted at by Matthew