March 2022 NWMLS Activity

Rising mortgage rates have not yet had a negative effect on the housing market! Buyers are still making multiple offers before landing a home in many areas of the Puget Sound region.

Brokers of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) added 11,197 new single family homes and condominiums to the market in March; an increase of over 5.6 percent from the year ago total of 10,562 units. Last month’s figure is a jump of over 41 percent from February (7,920 units) and it also marked the highest number of new listings added for any month recently since September 2021 when agents added 11,373 new listings.

Agents reported 10,059 pending sales (mutually accepted agreements) during March; down 7.4 percent from the year ago figure of 10,863 units…yet up nearly 31 percent from February. Since pending sales did not absorb all of the new inventory (11,197 units), standing inventory was allowed to increase therefore providing more of a selection for buyers.

For last month’s 7,989 closed transactions, the area-wide median price was $638,000…up about 16.4 percent from a year ago and up 9 percent from February. NWMLS data shows prices in the four-county region (King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish) have surged nearly $200,000 (38.5 percent) since March 2020; jumping from nearly $520,000 to nearly $720,000. Since January, prices in King County area up 16.5 percent and up 10.5 percent in Snohomish County.

While interest rates have gone up, slightly narrowing the buyer pool, there is still a lot of demand. The local economy and job growth in the Puget Sound has helped keep our market robust. Weighing all the indicators before making a decision to make a move is our specialty, let Hewitt Property Group provide you the information you need to make an educated decision; contact us today!