October 2020

Existing home sales continued their surge in September, marking the fourth consecutive month of a strong upward trajectory, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Each of the four major regions witnessed month-over-month and year-over-year growth, with the Northeast seeing the highest climb in both categories.

Total existing home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 9.4% from August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million in September. Overall sales rose year-over-year, up 20.9% from a year ago (5.41 million in September 2019).

In a low-interest rate environment, many buyers who are juggling remote work and learning are searching for larger homes with extra rooms

Amid the ongoing pandemic, the Puget Sound housing market has become a peculiar one to say the least, thanks in large part to plummeting inventory. 

Housing prices across King, Snohomish, and Pierce County have skyrocketed over the last month, with double-digit year-over-year increases in median home prices in all three areas. This comes amid an historically low inventory for prospective home buyers Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner says.

“We have to go back to good old Economics 101,” Gardner said. “When you have net new demand and you limit supply, what happens to prices? They rise, and that’s very much the case.”

According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), all three major counties had under a month’s worth of

Pending home sales rose 8.8% in August compared with July, reaching a record high pace, according to the National Association of Realtors survey, which dates to January 2001.

Sales were 24.2% higher than August 2019.

These sales track signed contracts on existing homes, not closings, so they are an indicator of closed sales in the next one to two months.

“Tremendously low mortgage rates – below 3% – have again helped pending home sales climb in August,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Additionally, the Fed intends to hold short-term fed funds rates near 0% for the foreseeable future, which should, in the absence of inflationary pressure, keep mortgage rates low, and that will undoubtedly aid homebuyers continuing to enter the