What's Really Happening in the Seattle Housing Market? | July 2026 Market Update

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZiG4bpwD4I

Hi, I'm Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates, and welcome to my July 2026 Market Update!

If you've been wondering why the market feels different this year, the answer isn't because buyers disappeared. It's because sellers finally showed up.

You know, over the past several years we've all lived through higher interest rates, inflation, stock market swings, political uncertainty, and no shortage of headlines predicting that the housing market was about to come to a screeching halt.

But when I look at the actual data from our local multiple listing service, the NWMLS, I keep coming back to the same conclusion.

The buyers never really left. In fact, they kept buying homes. So what’s changed this year isn't demand, it's supply.

Let me show you what I mean.

This chart really tells the whole story.

Bur before we look at the numbers, let me explain what you're looking at.

The orange line represents pending sales of single-family homes in King County, or in other words, the number of homes buyers put under contract each month, but had not yet close. 

The blue line shows the median sales price of those homes. 

And the green bars represent the average number of new listings that came onto the market during the second quarter of each year. Meaning,  if you add up the number of new listings in April, May and June of each year, divide by three, that’s the number. 

And while I use the data from King County, these trends hold in other counties in our area as well. 

Now, don't worry about every little bump and wiggle in the lines. Instead, step back and look at the bigger picture, because what we’re looking for are the trends. The trends tell us what's really happening in the market and how buyer and sellers are behaving. 

The first thing that jumps out at me is the information in the orange line.

Despite everything that's happened over the past four years, buyer activity has remained remarkably consistent. The dotted orange line shows the trendline for this data, and you can see how nice and perfectly horizontal it is. Yes, there are the normal seasonal ups and downs, but overall buyers have continued buying homes at a very steady rate. 

Now compare that with the green bars. Remember, each green bar represents the average number of new listings each month during the second quarter of that year.

Here the dotted green line shows the trendline for this data. You can see how it’s inclined up, because every year these green lines have gotten taller.

To put this in real number, back in 2023, the average number of new listings during the second quarter was just over 2,150 homes per month. A year later it increased to almost 2,600. Last year it climbed above 3,000. And this year we're averaging more than 3,200 new listings each month.

That's about a fifty percent increase in just four years. And that's a pretty remarkable shift in such a short period of time. 

At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, buyer activity has remained surprisingly steady.

So when you put those two trends together, the result is exactly what you'd expect. Inventory naturally increases.

Today we're sitting at about three-and-a-half months of inventory. Now, compared with the past few years, that's a noticeable increase. Historically, though, it's still generally considered a seller's market.

The difference is that buyers finally have more choices than they've had in quite some time. And honestly, I think that's healthier for everyone. Buyers now have time to compare several homes before making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

By the way, if you'd like to spend a little more time looking at this chart and reading the full analysis, you'll find everything in my July newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/newsletter. That's Weisbarth.com/newsletter.

Now, don't get the impression that homes aren't selling. Good homes—properly priced and marketed—are still selling quickly. But the market does seem increasingly divided.

And that’s another interesting consequence of all this. Some homes are selling very quickly, while others take longer. But they do sell, and that’s an important things to understand. 

As for prices, they're still slightly lower than they were a year ago, but they're continuing to move upward month-over-month, which is exactly what we'd expect during the spring and early summer market.

So here’s an interesting question for you: why are more homeowners finally deciding to sell?

My honest answer is... I don't know.

I have some theories about it though. One possibility is that many homeowners postponed moving after locking in those historically low mortgage rates a few years ago. And that certainly made sense at the time.

But, you see, eventually life catches up with all of us. Whether it’s a change in the family size, or change in jobs, retirement, or some other circumstance. Life doesn’t stand still and like many other things, housing needs evolve.

At some point, those life events become more important than the interest rate on your mortgage.  And when that happens, the decision to move becomes obvious. 

Now, whether what we’re seeing is the beginning of a longer-term shift or simply a release of pent-up supply is still too early to know. The next few months should give us a much better picture of where the market is headed.

So if you're thinking about buying or selling—or simply you’re trying to understand what today's market means for your own plans—this is a great time to start putting together a strategy.

My team and I use real data from our Northwest Multiple Listing Service, proven systems, and years of local market experience and insights to help our clients make confident decisions and maximize their results.

And remember, when you work with us, you're also helping support Akin, an amazing nonprofit that helps children and families throughout our community. Your business and your referrals truly make a difference, and that's something we're incredibly proud of.

For a no-obligation consultation—or if you'd simply like to 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 July newsletter at Weisbarth.com/newsletter.

I'm Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I'll see you next month.