Higher Rates and a Late-Summer Market Cyrus, we hope you are staying cool in this weather! Seasonally, the summer market in Seattle is quite strong, from June through early October. August can be a quiet month as people are going on their end-of-summer trips and getting ready for the school year to start. King and Snohomish County inventory is currently sitting at 2.7 months, the highest year-to-date. Statically, over the last 13+ years (except the COVID years, 2020/2021), we always see a jump in inventory as we get into September. The “jump” in inventory in September is a result of the August market lull, in addition to the many Sellers looking to capitalize on the late-summer weather. September tends to be the last strong tailwind of the market before we enter the Fall season. From late October onward, inventory and number-of-sales will drop along with the Buyer pool as many push their home-buying journey into the following calendar year. Between King and Snohomish County, the median price for single-family homes is currently at $845,000, up from $765,000 in January this year. This month, interest rates have hit a 20-year high, so it is likely that prices will stay at or around a median of $845,000 moving toward December.
Downtown Seattle Bounce Back!?
Have you been to downtown Seattle recently, Cyrus? If traffic isn't an indication to us all - with the opening of the new "Washington State Convention Center Summit" expansion building, we are seeing commerce and tourism pick up immensely in downtown Seattle.
There have already been numerous conventions at the Summit Building. The most notable upcoming event is PAX WEST 2023, with nearly 100,000+ people expected to attend and participate. The event is September 1st through the 4th. Let us know if you are going! We would love to hear about it.
In mid-June, Seattle hotel occupancy was over 86%, the highest since pre-pandemic. Over 1.43 million cruise passengers are expected to come through the city this year, a 12% increase over last year. This is no surprise, as Seattle remains one of the top USA destinations for travel this year!
Watch our video all about the Convention Center Summit Building HERE!!