Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted purchase index declined 6% from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1,598,000, down 5.1 % from the revised May rate of 1,683,000, but 23.3% above the year-ago rate of 1,296,000.

July’s reading of 80 was down one point from June, but still signaled strong demand for housing, the National Association of Home Builders said.

During the four-week period ended July 11, the average weekly share of homes for sale with a price drop passed 4% for the first time since September 2020.

How luxurious is the American real estate market? You may be surprised.

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 8% from the previous week.

The competitive homebuying market showed signs of loosening up last month as bidding wars dropped from May despite being higher than they were a year ago. 

Adjectives reflecting the desire for privacy and physical isolation gained a place of prominence: “private,” “covered,” “quiet,” “separate” and “enclosed” were among the top 100 most-used description terms.

It could take Seattle-area renters more than 12 years to save for a down payment in today’s market.

Despite an average nationwide uptick, Seattle rents declined year over year in May.

Millennials were once referred to as the “renter generation” because of their preference for apartment living in urban areas over purchasing a home in the suburbs like their Baby Boomer parents.

Housing markets across the country saw new listings growth in June, as the median list price hit yet another all-time high, and Seattle was no exception. 

Strong growth of single-family construction spending drove the increase, while spending on multifamily construction was flat, the National Association of Home Builders said.

“May’s strong increase in transactions — following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability — was indeed a surprise. The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%, and from an uptick in listings.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

New construction apartments are getting bigger in Seattle and other major markets after shrinking in size from 2016 to 2020, according to a recent study by RENTCafe and Yardi Matrix.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 330,000, representing a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.