Market Recap

As spring gets underway, inventory levels are high but the pace of sales is relatively slow. The number of active listings showed double-digit year-over-year increases in most counties when compared to April 2024, demonstrating that homeowners are primed and ready to sell.

Buyers were granted a bit of a reprieve as mortgage rates stayed relatively consistent throughout April, finishing out the month at 6.76% – the same rate as the end of March 2025. In addition, the median sales price for residential and condominium sales stayed virtually unchanged from March 2025, increasing from $649,999 to $650,000 in April 2025.

“As the number of sellers continues to outpace buyers, it is not surprising that price growth has slowed,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER). Recent media coverage identifies not only socioeconomic uncertainties such as tariffs and inflation, but also the willingness of both buyers and sellers to make concessions as potential factors in final sales prices in the last month.

April 2025 Key Takeaways

Active Listings

• There was a 47.4% increase year-over-year in the total number of properties listed for sale in the NWMLS service area. There were 14,459 active listings on the market at the end of April 2025,compared to 9,813 at the end of April 2024.
• When compared to the previous month, active inventory increased by 2,819 listings (+24.2%), up from 11,640 in March 2025.
• The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased throughout the NWMLS coverage area, with 24 out of 26 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase. The six counties with the highest increases in active inventory were Snohomish (+84.8%), Columbia (+76.9%), King (+71.3%), Clallam (+70.7%), Whatcom (+68.1%) and Grant (+59.8%).

Closed Sales and Months of Inventory

• The number of closed sales slightly increased by 0.7% year-over-year, up from 5,847 in April 2024 to 5,887 in April 2025. When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales increased by 8.9%, up from 5,406 sales in March 2025.
• The five counties with the largest increases were Grays Harbor (+54%), Kittitas (+44.9), Island (+29.9%), Chelan (+28.9%) and Skagit (+23.5%).
• A balanced market is considered around 4 to 6 months of inventory by most industry experts. At the current rate of sales, it would take around two and a half months (2.46) to sell every home that is active in the NWMLS inventory.

Median Sales Price and Total Dollar Value

• Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in April 2025 was $650,000, a slight decrease of 0.2% when compared to April 2024 ($651,000). When compared to last month, the median price was virtually unchanged ($649,999 in March 2025).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($907,000), Snohomish ($755,500) and San Juan ($665,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Okanogan ($289,000), Columbia ($305,000) and Adams ($310,000).
• The total dollar value of closed sales in April 2025 for residential homes was $4,393,208,459 and was $523,944,227 for condominiums ($4,917,152,685 in total), an increase of 1.2% when compared to April 2024.

Consumer and Broker Activity

NWMLS also provided insights into consumer activities during the month of April 2025:

• Keyboxes located at listed properties were accessed 153,949 times in April 2025, a 27.7% increase from March 2025 when they were accessed 120,586 times. Keybox activity slightly increased year-over-year by 0.2%, with keyboxes being accessed 152,999 times in April 2024.
• The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software decreased 4.7% from 122,099 in March 2025 to 116,336 in April 2025. This was a year-over-year decrease of 5.4% from the number of showings in April 2024 (122,975).
• In April 2025, there were 16,830 listed properties that were eligible for the Down Payment Resource (DPR) program offered by NWMLS, a 24.2% increase from 13,552 in March 2025. This was also a 22.3% year-over-year increase from 13,761 eligible listings in April 2024.

From Shane & Anne: Why Strategy, Not Speed, Will Win This Market

Despite a strong surge in inventory, April 2025 felt more like a market holding its breath than one sprinting into the spring buying season. Buyers are proceeding with caution, not urgency, and sellers—though active—are finding that pricing power is no longer guaranteed. This is not a market in decline; it’s a market in recalibration.

The data reveals a clear mismatch between supply and demand. With active listings up more than 70% in counties like King and Snohomish, and only a 0.7% increase in closed sales year-over-year, it’s evident: buyers have options, and they’re taking their time. Stable mortgage rates offer no real spark, and with economic uncertainties lingering—from inflation to global trade tensions—the sense of FOMO that once drove frenzied offers is gone.

In our opinion, this is a golden opportunity for strategic buyers and serious sellers. Those who understand how to price, prep, and market right—especially with a full-service team behind them—can still win. But the days of “list it and it sells” are behind us. Real estate in Washington has entered its next chapter: slower, more balanced, and more skill-dependent.

Are you positioned to succeed in this kind of market—or are you still playing by 2021’s rules?

Thinking about buying or selling in today’s shifting market? Let’s talk strategy, not stress. We live here, we work here, and we know how to help you win here—whether you’re upsizing, downsizing, or just exploring your options. Text, call, or message us anytime. Your next move deserves expert guidance!