“So, how’s the market?” Fall 2019 edition

The last quarter saw largely more of the same trends we have seen since the start of the year. Western Washington remains a seller’s market in the aggregate.

The key indicators – job growth, interest rates, and buyer demand – remain strong. Listing activity appears to have slowed down, which is largely a seasonal trend.

What is most noticeable about market trends in Western Washington is regional displacement. What this means is that counties in the outlying areas – such as Cowlitz, Jefferson, or Grays Harbor – are seeing the most rapid price appreciation in our region. This is largely due to increasingly cost-prohibitive home values in counties like King. As more home buyers are priced out of these more affluent communities, they begin to consider moving further out.

In Tacoma, these trends have largely kept constant with the last quarter. Sales prices are now selling, on average, for the same as listing prices. The average number of days on market has increased slightly to 10 days, which is still rapid. There has been a modest price increase in Tacoma home prices, which is an expected trend that reflects the above graph: as high prices become cost-prohibitive for more people in more expensive markets like King County, this will be reflected in Tacoma-area home values.

Mortgage rates are still historically low, at an average of 3.6%. This, plus the above economic forces, will continue sustaining this level of demand well into 2020.

Anders Ibsen

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