Despite year-over-year increases, Seattle has the lowest housing supply in the nation, according to the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report.
Greater Seattle’s housing supply increased by 9.8% year over year in March — however, that only amounted to a 0.6-month supply, well below the six or so months seen in a balanced market.
“The Seattle-King County market continues to experience a critical shortage of available homes,” John Manning, managing broker at RE/MAX Gateway in Seattle, said in the report. “High employment and solid local economic fundamentals are empowering buyers. Higher interest rates have become more normal and acceptable to many buyers. Despite this, sellers are still not budging from their homes and ultra-low-rate mortgages.”
With the decreased available inventory, competition has increased among buyers: days on market fell 25.4% to 44 days, down from 56 days in March 2023.
Meanwhile, Seattle also registered the fifth-highest home prices in the U.S. last month as the median sales price rose 12.2% to $729,475, up from $650,000 a year prior.
“It remains to be seen whether more homes will become available through the remainder of the spring, but for now, we continue to experience an extreme seller’s market,” Manning concluded.