With the trend toward telecommuting and moving to outlying suburban areas, the Seattle/King County condominium market presents a new option the county’s bigger supply of condos – 1.67 months of inventory versus 0.69 months for single family homes – and a slight break from double-digit appreciation, buyers may want to take a closer look at this “window of opportunity.” Condos can be a one bright spot for buyers. They are more reasonably priced and there are more months of inventory than with single family homes. With interest rates so low buyers should consider condos as an ownership opportunity and a way to build equity – especially if they’re currently renting. Of 4,432 active listings in the MLS system at the end of January, about one of every four offerings (1,051 units, or around 23.7%) was a condo, with the remaining 76% (3,381 listings) being a single family home. King County condo prices “entered negative territory in January,” down about one-half percentage point compared with the same month a year ago. Increased inventory as “likely due to COVID-19, possibly pointing to a growing number of homeowners who are choosing to move further away from core urban areas in favor of more space. It’s something to keep an eye on.

The market ignored the traditional winter slowdown and kept its foot firmly on the accelerator in January. While inventory levels were generally down in December, there was actually an uptick in new listings in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties last month. Most of those homes sold so quickly they aren’t reflected in the overall total active inventory numbers. Clearly, demand is still very strong which is further confirmed by the fact that year-over-year (YOY) price growth remains well above long-term averages.

The economics of scarcity are driving prices up at an unsustainable pace. What will happen this spring and summer will likely be more of the same. The real estate vortex we’re in of depleted inventory and high prices is real and unrelenting.  If interest rates weren’t historically low, buyers would be unable to afford the escalating cost of housing.  Sellers are almost as rare as the dodo bird. Although the number of new listings coming onto the market has kept pace or even exceeded last year’s totals in some areas, new listings are immediately devoured by a plethora of waiting buyers. The situation has buyers asking, “Am I paying too much?” and sellers asking, “Can we ask more?” That answer for both is “Yes,”