From dropping home prices, increased inventory and homes staying on the market longer, today’s buyers should look at the upside to what the market means for their prospects.

The increased inventory represents a shift in the market driven primarily by rising interest rates, experts said.

Homebuyer demand is starting to stabilize as October home sales posted the largest decline since 2015, according to a new report.

The 44th edition of the in-depth forecast report examined 80 cities to determine trends in the real estate industry for 2023.

The median age of inventory in Seattle is 42 days, down from 46 before the pandemic began.

Looking ahead, CoreLogic expects national year-over-year appreciation to slow to 3.9% by September 2023. 

September is the fourth month in a row to see declining sales activity. 

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.08% this week from 6.94% a week ago, Freddie Mac reported. A year ago, the average mortgage carried a 3.14% rate. 

Mortgage rates continued to weigh on homebuyers in September, following a brief uptick in new-home sales in August.  

At the same time, mortgage applications declined 1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis on a week-over-week basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

In Seattle, home prices posted a 9.9% year-over-year gain in August, compared to a 14.5% gain in July. Month over month, prices fell 3.9%.

Home values are 25% above affordability norms, the worst it’s been in years, according to a new report from Zillow.

“After a sustained period of quick sales that kept the housing cupboard relatively bare, a supply of two months presents a lot more options for homebuyers,” said RE/MAX President and CEO Nick Bailey.

The only other time the market saw such change was at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Month over month in September, existing-home sales slid 1.5% to 4.71 million, which is 23.8% lower than the year before. 

15% of Washington renters are not up to date on their rent.