January 2023 Real Estate Market Update

JANUARY 2023

REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE

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December 2022 is a Seller's market!

The number of for sale listings was up 199.3% from one year earlier and down 18.7% from the previous month. The number of sold listings decreased 45.2% year over year and decreased 16.3% month over month. The number of under contract listings was down 17.1% compared to previous month and down 27.7% compared to previous year. The Months of Inventory based on Closed Sales was 2.3, up 457.8% from the previous year.

The Average Sold Price per Square Footage was down 2.8% compared to previous month and down 4.7% compared to last year. The Median Sold Price decreased by 2.7% from last month. The Average Sold Price also decreased by 3.7% from last month. Based on the 6 month trend, the Average Sold Price trend was "Depreciating" and the Median Sold Price trend was "Depreciating".

The Average Days on Market showed a upward trend, an increase of 109.5% compared to previous year. The ratio of Sold Price vs. Original List Price was 94%, a decrease of 8.7% compared to previous year.

For Northwest MLS brokers, December ends with a “whimper,” and 2022 was “a tale of two housing markets”...

Last year was a tale of two housing markets, suggested by a broker in commenting on the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The MLS report for December shows continued growth in the number of active listings compared to the same month a year ago, but sharp drops in the number of pending and closed sales. Last month’s prices for single family homes and condominiums that sold across the 26 counties in the report dropped 0.51% from twelve months ago, marking the first year-over-year price decline since March 2012.

Year-over-year prices for last month’s sales of single family homes and condos (combined) declined in 17 counties and rose in nine counties. The median sales price was $570,000, down $2,900 (-0.51%) from the year-ago figure of $572,900. Last year’s median price overall peaked in May 2022, at $660,000. The median price for single family homes (excluding condos) that sold last month was $587,500, down 0.42% from a year ago when it was $590,000. Condo prices edged up last month compared to the same month a year ago, increasing from $435,000 to $440,000 for a gain of 1.15%.

In the first half of the year, we had low interest rates, rising prices, and little inventory. The second half of the year brought increasing interest rates, some lowering of prices, and increasing inventory. Last month’s activity was characterized as “good,” considering the holidays, snow and a rare Pacific Northwest ice storm. The broker noted there were about twice as many pending sales as new listings on average every day. He added that we still have pent up buyer demand and low inventory in the major markets.