Puget Sound Home Listings Up, Closed Sales Down

The Puget Sound residential market is in the midst of an upswing as the spring housing market approaches.

New listings across the region rose 9.3 percent in February from the month before and 16.5 percent year-over-year, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported, citing figures from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. At the same time, mortgage interest rates fell below 6 percent at the end of February for the first time since September 2022, though rates have since rebounded to the 6 percent mark.

“Listings continue to increase year-over-year as sellers decide to move on with their lives rather than wait for better market conditions,” Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, said in a news release.

Snohomish County saw the biggest yearly increases in new listings of homes that recently hit the market, jumping 22.7 percent in February from a year earlier. New listings in Kitsap County were up 20.6 percent, while King County, home to Seattle proper, rose 15.4 percent year-over-year.

Active listings, which includes all homes on the market, were up 32.8 percent overall in the Puget Sound region from the year prior, according to the Business Journal. Snohomish County notched the biggest jump with a 50.2 percent increase in inventory. King County followed with a 35.5 percent spike, while Pierce County registered a 25 percent increase in total active listings.

“Buyers have more choices, leading to longer market times and more ability to negotiate both price and terms,” Dave Maider, owner and designated broker at Windermere Real Estate M2, told the Business Journal.

Case in point: While listings are up, closed sales declined 6.9 percent year-over-year across the region. Completed sales dropped 10 percent in King County and 8.4 percent in Snohomish County, while activity was nearly unchanged in Pierce County. Pending sales, meanwhile, fell 1.4 percent year-over-year overall, including a 6.8 percent decrease in King County.

In King County, the median home price in King County rose 2.4 percent year-over-year and 9.1 percent month-over-month to $840,000. Prices also increased in Pierce and Kitsap Counties, while the median price in Snohomish County decreased 2 percent year-over-year to $720,000.

With the spring housing market around the corner, it won’t be a question of if the number listings in the Puget Sound region will increase, but by how much.

— Chris Malone Méndez