We are feeling the big squeeze on inventory. Unprecedented low-inventory levels in the housing market in the Puget Sound region have home prices trending slightly up during the time of year where we expect housing prices to drop. King County was up 1% in median price from September to October, Snohomish County was up 2%, and Lake Forest Park/Kenmore was up 6.8%. Not huge gains but when we expect the prices to be trending down, it's worth looking into. So let's check the data for the total number of homes for sale in October 2021 compared to the pervious three years, it tells a good story of where we are and what's to come.
| Area | October 2018 | October 2019 | October 2020 | October 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King County | 7,481 | 5,897 | 4,907 | 2,571 |
| Snohomish County | 2,879 | 2,328 | 1,294 | 805 |
| Lake Forest Park | 129 | 96 | 59 | 39 |
King County saw a -47.6% decrease in the number of homes listed from October 2020 to October 2021, Snohomish County is down -38%, and Lake Forest Park is down -34%. With these extremely low inventory numbers, I expect the housing market to be a frenzy in early 2022. Buyers typically start looking in mid-January and when they see that the cupboards are bare, the price will go up for the few homes on the market.
The McCartney family dressed as KISS for Halloween - We told Ana she was just a normal house cat, she was crawling around in her KISS costume pretending to be a kitty, haha! We hope you had a fun and safe Halloween!
Other Real Estate News
Despite the inventory squeeze, we helped some clients close on this 1956 mid-century home in Kenmore that sits on a half-acre lot with views of Lake Washington. Sold for $1,125,000. We’re looking forward to seeing how our clients put their touch on their new home!
The fall of “ibuying” – Zillow made the announcement that they are no longer going to be buying homes with their online ibuyers program called Zillow Offers. Instant buying, otherwise known as "ibuying," refers to the process in which deep-pocketed, tech-enabled companies buy up homes, complete light renovations and then sell them for a profit. Companies like Zillow and Redfin rely on algorithms to value homes before purchasing them. Apparently, the algorithms were way off. Take the Phoenix area, for example, Zillow has listed 93% of their properties for LESS than what they paid for them. Zillow Offers lost $381 million last quarter and now the company plans to cut 25% of its workforce, while still needing to sell 7,000 homes throughout the US. How will this affect the market? ibuying programs make up about 1% off all home sales so it won’t shake the market too much, but it will be interesting to see how Redfin responds with their ibuying program.
The appeal to using ibuying programs to sell a house is that these companies were paying close to market value and the homeowner did not have to get the house fixed up for the open market. At Lyon Creek Real Estate, we work with other investors that are willing to purchase homes off market in their “as-in condition”. If that’s something you’re interested in, then let me know!
Also, don't forget to turn back your clocks - Daylight Saving Time is ending at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 7th.
