Happy New year! I hope yours is off to a great start. Buyers who took a break over the holidays have come out of hibernation, hoping for an influx in inventory or a market that has cooled like our weather. Sadly, this is not the case. In fact, December’s median sold price on the Eastside hit an all time high of $1,529,500 – up 37% year over year. Inventory dropped to an all time low of just 55 Eastside homes for sale in December, shattering the prior month’s record low of just 100 homes. Keep in mind, the ten year average for December is 743. As a result, 75% of all homes sold last month went above asking price for a median difference of 15%.

Meanwhile in Seattle, prices remained relatively flat Year over year, with prices going up 5%. Still, 38% of the home sales in December sold for over asking price, for a median difference of 8%. It all comes back to supply and demand. Inventory continues to be a challenge – there are just not enough homes to meet the strong demand spurred in large by major tech employers continuing to and pay among the highest salaries in the county. While interest rates remain historically low, we do expect them to rise throughout the year and since rates impact purchasing power, many buyers are trying to lock in now, contributing even further to the frenzy that is driving prices up.

The struggle is real and fortune favors the bold. Buyers need to be willing to act fast and be aggressive. Cases in point: Three separate clients this week had homes slip through their hands either because they had just started their preapproval process or because someone beat them to the table with an early and super compelling offer prior to its stated review date.

𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

Call or text me anytime using 425-495-0926 or feel free to email me GinaM@Windermere.com