Seattle remains to have one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. As 2017 closed, so did the highest median home prices in the city’s history. With the end of the first month of 2018, we are now able to look at what might happen through the year with median prices as we compare the first month of this year with January 2017.
A recent article in Seattle Times highlighted the patterns of the local real estate market with an emphasis on the change in prices from January 2017 to January 2018. An overarching trend in rising prices is hard not to see from various data across the Puget Sound. Median prices began an upward trend with the progression of time for both home and condo sales. Not only this, but the rising prices have been moving out into the areas surrounding the city.
From the shores of the sound and into the suburbs, prices throughout King County have gone up. In 2017 Seattle condos were selling at a median price of $440,000 and last month the average sale increased to $475,500. The median price for home sales in the city increased to $757,000 compared to $635,800 in January of last year. No area within the county saw prices lower from the previous year.
The hot market coupled with interest rates that were historically low gave way to people across the region purchasing homes faster than ever. With rising interest rates, will buyers be wary or will the competitive home buying patterns continue? When interest rates rise so do mortgage payments, which could cause hesitancy for those looking to buy. While the rates may be higher than the last few months, CNBC reported that they are still historically low when looking at the past decade and reminded buyers that, “rates have soared higher than 10 percent in the past, and the market survived.”
In summary, just because the interest rates have increased you shouldn’t be afraid to purchase a home, especially if your credit is in good standing. Home prices appear to continue their upward trend making now a great time to step into homeownership.
Read the full articles from Seattle Times and CNBC.