2021 saw another impressive year of growth in real estate. The 2020 spike in demand for single-family homes, spurred on by the pandemic, continued in 2021. We continued to see bidding wars in every market, substantial price growth, and equity gains across the country (see figure 1)
Locally, Issues with affordability and the slow rebound of condo sales had the price of Seattle real estate rise a modest 4.8% to close out the year, with a median sales price of $760,000. As many companies continued their flexible approach to working from home, it is unsurprising that buyers opted to purchase homes in more affordable cities surrounding Seattle. Homeowners (and sellers) in nearby Pierce, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties have been the biggest winners in terms of equity gains as prospective buyers broadened their search. Snohomish led the way in terms of median price growth, up 28.6% year over year to $675,000. Whatcom County was up 21.1% year over year to a median price of $520,000 and Pierce County was up 20% to $510,000
Seattle’s 4.8% price growth offset the 26.8% and 62%(!) growth in Bellevue and Sammamish respectively, giving King County an overall 11.7% increase in prices from this time last year. Fueled by record low inventory this fall and winter, homes in Sammamish sold for an average of 12% over asking price in December. In Bellevue that number was 8% and in Seattle homes sold right at list price.
In King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties, the median days on market is 6-7 days. That's about enough time to list the house and give buyers a week to see it and prepare an offer by the due date.
In those same counties we have about .5 months of inventory, which means all of the inventory is turning over in about 2 weeks. A balanced market is about 3-4 months of inventory.
As a whole, the local market was not as frenetic going into the winter months as we saw earlier in the year, with the exception of Sammamish and Bellevue. Buyer demand remains high, bolstered by attractive mortgage rates and a low supply of inventory, keeping the market humming through January and into the spring.
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