Expanding inventory is leading to market stabilization across the Northwest MLS region, according to the latest report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS).

As purchasing power for buyers remains constrained due to current mortgage rates, inventory continues to increase across the region. Inventory levels increased 35.7% year over year in June, while closed sales transactions fell 3.1%. Pending sales also decreased 1.4%.

Active inventory increases were the highest in Douglas County, where inventory rose 77.2% year over year, but 40%-or-higher increases in supply were also seen in Pierce (+48%), Clark (+46.9%), Snohomish (+46.2%), Lewis (+45.2%) and King (+43.3%) counties.

That extra supply around the Seattle metro area is good news for buyers who’ve been sidelined so far this spring and summer, however, the entire region still had only a 2.17-month housing supply in June, below the four to six months seen in a balanced market.

CoreLogic Chief Economist Selma Hepp says the Pacific Northwest market is moving toward normalization.

“While increased inventory of homes on the market this spring offered potential home buyers more options, elevated mortgage rates put affordability at the forefront of housing market concerns,” Hepp said in the report. “Home prices did heat up again this spring in the Seattle metro area, putting the region among the strongest appreciating markets across the country. More inventory will slow pressure on home prices over time.”

The median sale price rose 4% to $650,000 in June, up from $625,000 in June 2023.