Transactions that do go through are typically seeing multiple offers, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. 

A third consecutive month of increases in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index lends new evidence to claims that previous declines could be behind the market. 

Demand for newly built homes has remained strong as high interest rates keep many would-be sellers of existing homes off the market. 

At the same time, the median existing-home price for all housing types slid 3.1% year over year to $396,100. 

Three of the most expensive new listings this month are luxury penthouses — two of which are located at The Four Seasons Private Residences.

Motivations for homeownership are varied across generations: Gen Z and Boomers made the decision for better living conditions, while Gen X and Millennials were in search of stability they couldn’t get while renting.

“Paint is a relatively affordable and easy change, yet it has an outsized impact on a buyer’s perception of the home,” said Amanda Pendleton, home trends expert at Zillow.

The larger-than-expected increase comes as homebuilder sentiment rose for the sixth month in a row. 

There are nearly 40% fewer homes for sale now than before the pandemic began

Seattle has grown tremendously in the past few years as a hub for tech and business, but with layoffs and work-from-home trends, it’s the Seattle suburbs that may now be the best place to start working in software engineering.

Homes affordable to middle-income buyers — defined as households earning up to $75,000 — fall in the $256,000-to-$320,000 range. But of the over one million U.S. homes on the market at the end of April, less than a quarter of all listings were within that price range.

Homebuyers in Washington last month saw the largest inventory selection since December 2022, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service Monthly Market Update.

Seattle’s listings were down 10.8% from last year.

The area also saw some of the biggest year-over-year decreases in new listings and median sales price.

A second consecutive month of increases in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index could indicate a reversal of the negative trend that began last year. 

Seattle had the third-largest increase in seller concessions from last year.