It’s no surprise the Seattle condo market took a hit amid COVID-19 as homeowners realized they could work remotely from almost anywhere. The flight to the suburbs and elsewhere wreaked havoc on the condo market in the form of increased inventory, but the good news, now, is that a rebound is on the horizon.
Polaris Pacific, a firm specializing in high-density real estate sales and marketing, has compared the number of new construction sales for the month of July, as well as resale listings, or existing condo sales. The data is revelatory.
In July 2020, there were 1,363 newly constructed units sold compared to 1,274 in July 2021: a decline of 7%. Existing condo sales in the city fared worse. July 2021 saw 873 just units sold. By contrast, July 2020 had 1,130 sales for a year-over-year decline of nearly 260 units. Check out a visualization of those findings below.
Still, there’s room for optimism. Median sales price in July 2021 clocked in at $521,658, compared to $510,188 in July 2020.
Additionally, Jeff Reynolds, a noted real estate broker with Compass Seattle shared in a recent blog post:
“I’m hearing from a lot of clients and contacts who are returning to work and living in the city. It will take a while, but for now, the market has greatly improved. The only debate now is if and when new construction makes a full recovery.”
Reynolds is also the founder UrbanCondoSpaces.