Unsettled mortgage rates prolong uncertainty in the market

Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of October 2024.

Market Recap

Closed sales increased by over 11% month-over-month, driven by a brief downturn in mortgage rates and a boost in buyer confidence amid hopes for continued rate declines. However, mortgage rates unexpectedly rose again from 6.08% at the end of September to 6.72% at the end of October. This increase correlates to economic data including strong job growth numbers but presents challenges for hopeful buyers. Meanwhile, home prices increased by 2.4% month-over-month on average, further dampening optimism.

“The only thing that seems certain about this market is that houses are not becoming more affordable, due to the ongoing combination of high interest rates and rising prices,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) at the University of Washington.

October 2024 Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• While the total number of properties listed for sale declined by about 6% when compared to last month, there was a 29.8% increase when compared to the same month last year, with 14,795 active listings on the market at the end of October 2024 compared to 11,403 at the end of October 2023.
• The five counties with highest increases in active inventory for sale were Grant (+54.6%), Pacific (+48%), Clallam (+42.5%), Chelan (+40.9%) and Lewis (+35.6%).

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales increased by over 11% when compared to last month, and by 22.5% when compared to the same month last year – 6,479 in October 2024 compared to 5,291 in October 2023. An increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year was observed in 22 out of 26 counties.
• The total dollar value of closed sales in October 2024 was $4,766,092,472 for residential homes and $499,012,797 for condominiums, for a total value of $5,265,105,268. The total value in October 2024 saw an increase of 33.4% when compared to October 2023.

 Median Sale Price

• Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in October 2024 was $650,000, an increase of nearly 8% when compared to October 2023 ($602,000). When compared to last month, the median price increased 2.4% from $635,000 in September 2024.
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($865,000), San Juan ($825,000) and Snohomish ($753,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Ferry ($112,500), Pacific ($330,625) and Grant ($341,782).

Consumer and Broker Activity

NWMLS also provided insights into consumer activities during the month of October 2024:

• In September 2024, there were 17,049 listed properties that were eligible for the Down Payment Resource (DPR) program offered by NWMLS, a 23% year-over-year increase of 23% from October 2023.
• Keyboxes located at listed properties were accessed 146,608 times in October 2024, a 7% decrease in activity from September 2024 when they were accessed 157,756 times. However, keybox activity increased by 16% year-over-year, with keyboxes being accessed 126,029 times in October 2023.
• The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software decreased 8% from 119,900 in September 2024 to 110,736 in October 2024. This was a year-over-year increase of 18% from the number of showings in October 2023 (93,707).