The South Puget Sound housing market is without a doubt, a sellers’ market…possibly one without precedent. A shortage of Inventory is the primary cause, but buyer activity is subdued this time of year, or the market would be even stronger. If spring buying season comes, and more inventory doesn’t, it may get dicey.
Homes are routinely staying on the market for less than a week, and consistently selling above ask. I put a home under contract today, Listed 3 days ago. 5 offers, $20k above ask, $8500 seller paid closing costs.
I have a number of clients who PCS this spring and have themselves on a short leash. They don’t want to list too early, and then be forced to move prematurely…but they also don’t want to miss a change in the market. We have also taken pictures of a couple of homes; and have the listings ready whenever the sellers say “Go”. For folks who are waiting, I am watching the inventory situation and will call if it looks like lots of new listings are coming. A good
time to go on market right now is between 45-60 days from when you expect to be out of the home.
Prices are going up as fast as they can! Rapid appreciation has continued and is now extending well beyond $500K. Silver Hawk, the new large lot community in Lacey, is selling $500K+ homes faster than they can build them. DR Horton is building homes in the low-mid $300’s, Richmond American in Hawks Prairie in the $400K’s. Rates are still to good to be true, and prices have risen to the point that there are essentially no homes on the market under $200k that will qualify for financing.
Mortgage Interest rates are still hanging around 3.75-4.00%, although the fed raised them a couple of times last year, the industry ate some of it…must have thought they were smarter than the Fed. If the economy remains this strong, I expect we will see rates continue to creep up, but it is unimaginable to think they would go up more than 1%…although in this business we don’t like rates to go up at all.
2018 is looking like it will be a great year for home sellers. A steady supply of buyers, low inventory, and good financing terms are what the textbooks would call a “sellers’ market”.
So…how to Sell? My humble opinion is that we offer the best seller representation in the area, for one reason: In addition to the traditional MLS, Zillow and others, we have gotten very good at exposing our listings to the widest possible segment of relocating buyers…before they arrive. I would be happy to show you how I sell homes and give you my opinion of your home and what it will sell for. Please respond to this email or give me a call, Gayle and I would love to hear from you!
~ Phil
