Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Welcome to my June 2023 Seattle Real Estate Market report.
A year ago, I presented data showing just how far beyond the norm home sale prices were during 2021 and the beginning of 2022. I refer to this period of price aberration as the ‘Covid Price Spike’. This month, I’ll show you a similar graph, updated with another year’s worth of data, that is even more telling about what is going on in our Seattle area real estate market.
Before I do that, I have to share with you a headline from the Seattle Time from June 5th.
Really, Seattle Times? Really?
Talk about attention grabbing headlines. This headline makes it sound like the sky is falling, when nothing could be further from the truth!
Let’s look at some real data, shall we?
The rising graph shows the median sale prices for single family homes (SFH) in King County going all the way back to January 2013. I used ORANGE to represent the portion of the dataset through December 2020, and BLUE to represent the portion of the dataset starting in January 2021 to the present.
And by the way, these trends that I’m showing you are true for Snohomish County and Pierce County, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other counties in Washington as well.
This next paragraph is a bit technical, so hang in there with me…
I added to this graph two straight lines. The DOTTED ORANGE LINE represents the straight-line appreciation calculated using only the portion of the dataset from January 2013 to December 2020, and then extrapolated through May 2023.
The DOTTED BLUE LINE represents the straight-line appreciation, calculated using the entire dataset, starting in January 2013, and all the way through May 2023.
What these two straight lines represent are the rate at which single family homes appreciated in King County in the last 10 plus year. As you can clearly see, even with the large price increases during the ‘Covid Price Spike’, these two lines are very close to each other.
What does all this mean?
It means that despite the ‘Covid Price Spike’, the market seems to gravitate back to those straight-line appreciation rates.
By the way, if you want to look at all this information and read my report at your pace and leisure, you’ll find all this information in my June newsletter.
Incidentally, a similar price spike happened in 2017 and early 2018, although those spikes were not quite as pronounced. Although at the time, almost everyone thought that the end of the world was coming. So this kind of fearmongering is not new business.
In the end, in all of these cases, the market eventually corrected itself back to the line.
Again, I want to point out that these trends are true for Snohomish and Pierce counties, as other counties as well.
So what we’re seeing now is the median home prices rising, although not quite as dramatically as they did last year.
All this brings us back to the fundamental truths about real estate, that home prices are determined by two forces: supply and demand! As long as the supply is low (which it is) and the demand is high (which it also is), then prices will continue to rise. Sometimes they will rise too fast, and then they will drop; sometimes they will be above the line, and sometimes below the lin. But these periods are generally short lived, as the market corrects itself very quickly.
So don’t let misleading headlines confuse and scare you. As the old saying goes – numbers don’t lie! The market is very much alive and well. And when you understand the dynamics of all these market forces, you can make better decisions about buying and selling.
Now if you know anyone who is considering buying or selling their home this year, please send them this video or refer them to us by phone, text, email or fill out the ‘referral’ form on our website. My team and I will make sure that they get educated on the buying and selling process, the things to do and not do, and, of course, on the market itself, so that they can make the best decisions and maximize their results. There is no cost for any of this and absolutely no obligation.
The best way to reach me is by phone at 206-779-9808.
Please remember to like, subscribe and follow for more great insights, charts and tips on my monthly vlog, and read our monthly newsletter.
I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. See you next month!