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Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates, and welcome to my May 2026 Market Update! You know, if a Martian landed in Seattle and looked only at our real estate data from the past several years, they’d probably conclude that nothing particularly unusual is happening here. Which is kind of amazing when you think about it. Because meanwhile, down on Earth, we’ve had inflation spikes, rapidly changing interest rates, wars, tech layoffs, tariffs, political uncertainty, stock market volatility, and enough economic chaos to make people’s heads spin. And yet somehow, the local housing market continues to behave in a surprisingly normal and seasonally predictable way. Honestly, after the last few years, that may be the strangest thing of all. If we look at the King County single-family home market, the overall trends remain remarkably healthy and normal for this time of year. Pending sales continue to rise seasonally, new listings are increasing as more sellers enter the market, and median prices climbed steadily from their winter lows through early spring — exactly what we’d typically expect to see this time of year. Now, one thing that really stands out to me is inventory. The number of homes for sale is now sitting at levels we haven’t seen since before COVID. Buyers finally have more choices again, and I think that’s one of the main reasons prices have remained relatively restrained compared to the pandemic frenzy years. And honestly, I think that’s probably healthier. Homes that are well-prepared, properly marketed, and priced strategically are still selling quickly. Buyers are still active. Life events continue happening. People still need homes. But buyers now have a little more breathing room, and sellers need to be more strategic than they did a few years ago, when almost anything would sell instantly with twelve offers and someone waiving their firstborn child as part of the contract. Okay… maybe not literally. But it was getting close there for a while. And by the way, if you’d like to study these charts more closely and read my full report at your own pace, you can find my complete May newsletter for free at Weisbarth.com/newsletter — that’s Weisbarth.com/newsletter. Now, there was one interesting little wrinkle in the data this month that caught my attention. If you look at this second chart, the blue line represents King County median prices, while the orange line represents Seattle median prices. For quite a while now, these two lines have been tracking each other very closely. Historically, Seattle often outperformed the broader county — especially on prices — but over the past several years the surrounding market has largely caught up, and the data between the two has looked surprisingly similar. But this month we saw a small divergence. Seattle median prices actually rose about 1.5% month-over-month, while King County prices declined roughly 4.3% during the same period. Now, before anybody panics or starts making grand predictions — this may ultimately mean absolutely nothing. Median price data can be noisy month-to-month depending on the mix of homes that sold. Sometimes a higher concentration of luxury homes or lower-priced homes can temporarily skew the numbers. But I was curious to see it because we really haven’t seen much separation between Seattle and the broader county lately. And interestingly, that divergence doesn’t really show up in the other metrics. Pending sales, new listings, and overall activity levels still look very similar between the two markets. So for now, I’d categorize this less as “a trend” and more as “something interesting to watch.” And honestly, that’s one of the reasons I focus so much on month-over-month movement and broader market behavior instead of dramatic headlines. Real estate markets are emotional, cyclical, and sometimes noisy in the short term. One isolated number rarely tells the full story. What still seems much more meaningful to me is that buyers continue adapting to uncertainty remarkably well. For a while, every new headline seemed capable of freezing the market. And sometimes that still happens temporarily — because as I often say, a confused mind will do nothing. But increasingly, buyers and sellers seem to be adjusting psychologically to the idea that uncertainty itself may simply be part of normal life now. And that’s probably one reason the market has remained surprisingly resilient despite everything happening around us. If the normal seasonal patterns continue, there’s a good chance prices either peak this month or sometime in early summer before we gradually move into the typical late-summer slowdown. Of course, unusual economic events could always change the trajectory. But at least for now, the market appears stubbornly committed to behaving normally. So if you’re thinking about buying or selling this year, strategy matters more than ever. For sellers, proper pricing, presentation, preparation, and marketing have become critically important again — which is exactly why our proven 5-step seller system was designed for markets like this. And for buyers, having a clear strategy, understanding your priorities, and being fully prepared before the right home appears can make all the difference — especially as good homes still move very quickly. That’s a major part of our proven 3-step buyer system. And remember, when you work with our team, your business and referrals also help support Akin and the amazing work they do helping kids and families in need throughout our community. If you’d like help analyzing your specific situation, my team and I are always happy to offer a no-obligation consultation. And honestly, the best way to reach me is still the old-fashioned way — just pick up the phone and give me a call directly at 206-779-9808. That’s 206-779-9808. And if you know someone thinking about buying or selling, feel free to refer them my way as well. Thanks again for watching! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow for more updates. And once again, you can always read my full newsletter and see all the charts at Weisbarth.com/newsletter — that’s Weisbarth.com/newsletter. I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates, and I’ll see you next time!

Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates, and welcome to my April 2026 Market Update! Just when it seemed like the world might finally be settling down—even for a moment—the local, national, and global craziness ramped up again. To the long list of crazy news we can now add a war in the Middle East, rising energy costs, a slumping stock market, and elevated interest rates. Great! So how does all of this affect our real estate market—and specifically your ability to buy or sell a home? Well, as it turns out, buyers may be settling in—even if the world around them isn’t. If you take a look at this chart, you’ll see something pretty surprising. Pending sales—homes that have received an offer and are waiting to close— depicted here in orange, rose sharply in March and are now higher than at any point last year, including the usual peak months in the second quarter. They’re up 47% from last month and about 5.5% higher than this time last year. Inventory levels have also increased by roughly 50% year over year. And with such a large increase in inventory you’d expect to see an easing in home prices, but that hasn’t happened. Median sales prices, depicted here in dark blue, are very much on the rise. And medians days on market dropped from 10 days last month to 7 day this month. Now, all of this follows the exact market pattern that we’ve seen for over 15 years now. And again, this is all despite all the worrying headlines. So what’s going on here? My hypothesis is that the usual surge of buyers who entered the market at the beginning of the year ran straight into the lowest inventory levels of the year. As a result, many of them found themselves in multiple-offer situations, losing out on one home after another. So far, this follows the annual pattern to a T. But you see, by the time the bad news hit, the buyers’ mindset had already shifted toward making a purchase, and so they persevered despite all the negative headlines. At some point, their need for a good home simply outweighed their fear. And that may be the most interesting part of what we’re seeing right now. Because not that long ago, buyers would have been spooked by far less dramatic events, often bringing market activity to a halt. Today, something different seems to be happening. The need for a good home appears to be outweighing the uncertainty created by all the unsettling news. You see, life keeps moving forward—families grow, jobs change, and plans don’t always wait for perfect conditions. By the way, if you want to take a closer look at this data and the full analysis, you can find it in my April newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/newsletter—that’s Weisbarth.com/newsletter. So the question becomes: is this just a moment, or is this becoming the new normal? Well, time will tell whether this trend continues, but we should have a clearer picture over the next month or so as the spring market unfolds. In the meantime, one thing is becoming clear: even in the face of uncertainty, buyers are not standing still. In many cases, they’re moving forward anyway, because they’ve realized the cost of waiting has become greater than the cost of acting. So if you’re thinking about buying or selling this year—or if you know someone who is—this is actually very good news. This spring is shaping up to be very much in line with the normal trends that we’ve seen for many, many years. And the important part is that early in the cycle is often when the best opportunities appear. My team and I use real data, proven systems, and on-the-ground experience to help our clients position themselves ahead of the market, not chase it. And remember, when you work with us, you’re also helping support Akin, an amazing nonprofit that helps kids and families in need thrive. Your business and referrals make a real difference in the community, and we’re incredibly proud to be part of that mission. For a no-obligation consultation—or if you just want to explore your options or bounce around some ideas—reach out by email, text, or, my favorite, a good old-fashioned phone call at 206-779-9808. That’s 206-779-9808. Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow for more updates, and be sure to check out the full April newsletter at Weisbarth.com/newsletter. I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates—and I’ll see you next month.

Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates, and welcome to my March 2026 Market Update! Last month I wrote that the real estate market looked like it was about to repeat its familiar annual cycle. At the time, the signals were still early. A few homes were selling quickly, buyer activity seemed to be picking up, and both new listings and pending sales were starting to rise. Now that we have the February data, those early signals look much more convincing. If you look at this chart, you can see the pattern pretty clearly. After the typical winter slowdown, both new listings and pending sales started rising again early this year — just as they’ve done in the past several years. In other words, the spring market appears to be unfolding almost exactly on schedule. And the market is moving quickly. One of the clearest signals is days on market, which dropped sharply from 39 days in January to just 11 days in February. That’s a strong sign that buyers are actively competing for the homes that are coming onto the market. So at least for now, the market is following the same script we’ve been watching for the past several years. By the way, if you want to look at this chart and explore the data at your own pace, you’ll find everything in my March newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/newsletter — that’s Weisbarth.com/newsletter. Now, of course, February’s numbers only tell part of the story. They reflect activity that took place before the latest round of global disruptions. The war that began at the end of February, the resulting spike in oil prices, volatility in the stock market, and a noticeable slowdown in hiring have all happened too recently to show up in the housing data yet. Mortgage interest rates also briefly dipped just under the 6% mark before jumping up considerably, as financial markets reacted to the new uncertainty. Whether those developments affect buyers’ and sellers’ behavior is something we simply don’t know yet. But here’s what we do know. Over the past several years, the housing market has proven to be surprisingly resilient. Even through inflation spikes, high interest rates, political turmoil, and global conflicts, the seasonal rhythm of the market has continued to assert itself. And that’s why the February data is important. It confirms what we suspected last month — the familiar cycle is underway again. The big question now, is whether the latest economic and geopolitical shocks will interrupt that cycle… or whether the market will continue along the same path it has followed in recent years. We should start getting answers to that question as the spring market unfolds over the next couple of months. So if you’re thinking about buying or selling this year, now is a good time to start planning. Early in the cycle is often when the best opportunities appear — before competition intensifies and before the headlines catch up. My team and I use real data, proven systems, and on-the-ground experience to help our clients position themselves ahead of the market, not chase it. And remember — when you work with us, you’re also helping support Akin, an amazing nonprofit helping kids and families in need thrive. Your business and referrals make a real difference in our community, and we’re incredibly proud to be part of that mission. So if you’d like to talk strategy — or if you know someone who could use some guidance — reach out by email, text, or (my favorite) a good old-fashioned phone call at 206-779-9808. That’s 206-779-9808. Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow for more updates — and be sure to check out the full March newsletter at Weisbarth.com/newsletter. I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates — and I’ll see you next month.