Weekly Market Update: October 5th through October 11th

After a couple of weeks of movement in the numbers, this week’s real estate market across South Snohomish and North King Counties was surprisingly steady.

New listings barely moved. Pending sales barely moved. And price reductions didn’t move at all.

The one big change was closed sales, but there’s some context behind that number.

This Week’s Stats

New Listings: 198 ↑ from 196 last week
Pending Sales: 162 ↓ from 166 last week
Sold Homes: 98 ↓ from 154 last week
Price Reductions: 228 → unchanged

The Fall Market Is Settling In

We had 198 new listings this week compared with 196 last week.

That’s about as flat as it gets.

Pending sales were similar, slipping slightly from 166 to 162.

Put those two numbers together and we’re seeing a market where new supply and buyer activity are moving at a pretty similar pace.

That’s important because even though we’re well past the spring and summer market, buyers haven’t disappeared.

What Happened With Closed Sales?

Closed sales dropped from 154 last week to 98 this week.

At first glance, that looks like a significant slowdown.

But last week included the end of September, when transactions that had been working their way toward closing throughout the month were wrapping up. Weekly closed sales can bounce around quite a bit depending on where the end of the month falls.

That makes the new listing and pending numbers more interesting to me when looking at what’s happening right now.

And those numbers were almost unchanged.

228 Price Reductions… Again

For the second week in a row, we recorded exactly 228 price reductions.

That means we once again had more price reductions than new listings.

And that continues to tell an important story about this market.

Buyers are active, but they’re also paying attention to value.

Homes that are priced well and show well can still get attention quickly. Homes that enter the market ahead of where buyers see the value may find themselves sitting and eventually adjusting.

What Does This Mean for Buyers?

Don’t assume the best opportunity is always the newest listing.

With 228 price reductions this week, there are homes already on the market where the numbers may have changed considerably since they first came up for sale.

A home you passed on two or three weeks ago might be worth another look after a price reduction.

And as we move farther into fall, sellers who have been on the market for a while may also be more willing to discuss terms beyond just the purchase price.

What Does This Mean for Sellers?

There is some good news in these numbers.

Only 198 new listings came on the market this week, which means sellers aren’t facing the same flow of new competition we typically see during the busier parts of the year.

But buyers are clearly price conscious.

When 228 homes reduce their price in the same week that only 198 new listings come on the market, it reinforces how important the initial pricing decision can be.

You want buyers paying attention to your home while it’s fresh, not discovering it several weeks later because the price finally caught up with the market.

The Bottom Line

This week looks like a pretty good snapshot of our fall market.

New inventory is holding steady.

Buyer activity is holding steady.

And sellers who started too high are continuing to make adjustments.

For buyers, that can create opportunities.

For sellers, less new competition can work in your favor, but only if your home is positioned correctly from the beginning.

The market across South Snohomish and North King Counties is still moving. It’s just moving at a very fall like pace.