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.

More than 4,500 homes in the Seattle metro area have sold for more than $100,000 over their asking prices this year, and 580 of those fetched more than $300,000 over the asking price, according to a new Redfin report.

Market competition has eased up recently, but seven in 10 buyers still face bidding wars, according to a new report from Redfin.

Inventory levels rebounded last month, finally showing signs of recovery following a year of historical declines.

The typical increase in home sales as summer approaches failed to materialize nationwide last month, with average sales dropping 0.2% from April to May, while month-over-month sales in Seattle bucked the trend slightly, climbing 0.4%, according to the RE/MAX May National Housing Report.

Although pending sales are up 29% from last year, they are starting to slow down, dropping 9.7% from their peak four weeks ago.

The rise in equity could help stave off foreclosures because homeowners can tap into that equity and sell their home, unlike during the 2008 financial crisis when many homeowners found themselves underwater in their mortgage, according to CoreLogic.