Brokers added more new listings to the Northwest MLS than any month in three years, and active listings more than doubled compared to a year ago.

The latest data from NWMLS shows a real estate market shifting to something that resembles normalcy after years of a frenzied sellers’ market.

Brokers reported drops in pending and closed sales, and the median percentage price increase in June was the smallest year-over-year hike since June 2020.

“What the changes mean in general terms, are more houses on the market, longer market times, stabilizing home prices, fewer showings and open house visitors, fewer offers at one time and more price adjustments,” Frank Wilson, Kitsap regional manager at John L. Scott Real Estate, said in a news release.

NWMLS brokers added 14,223 new listings of single-family homes and condos during June, the most since May 2019 when there were 14,689 new listings.

At the end of June, there were 13,405 active listings in the NWMLS database, more than double the 6,358 listings from a year ago and the most since October 2019.

There were 8,937 pending sales during June, down 27.5% from the same month last year. Closed sales also fell about 17.2% from a year earlier.

The median NWMLS price rose year over year from $589,000 to $650,000. On a percentage basis, that is the smallest increase since June 2020.

“The increase in listings has started to slow the rabid pace of price gains that we have experienced. This is a good thing, not a cause for concern,” said Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. 

King County’s median sale price declined in June to $851,000, compared to May’s $880,000. The $851,000 is still a 9.1% increase from a year ago. Median prices topped $1 million for both Vashon and the Eastside areas and North Seattle and Lake Forest Park.

While the numbers have improved for buyers, we’re still a long way from the market flipping fully in favor of buyers, Wilson said.

“Often change is good for one group but bad for another,” Wilson said. “In this case, the change is good for buyers but does not really hurt sellers. Sellers who correctly price their homes in today’s market are still able to get top-of-market prices. Buyers have more choices and may see a little bit of flexibility on price and terms from the seller.”

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service is the largest MLS in the Northwest with 32,000 brokers covering 26 of Washington’s counties.