NWMLS: Prices Surging, Listing Shortage Drags On

Posted on by The Tim

February market stats were published by the NWMLS yesterday. Before we get into our monthly stats, here’s a quick look at their press release.

Last month we saw a slight uptick in inventory, but this month the number of homes on the market fell back down a bit again, putting us at the lowest February inventory level on record. With just 2,101 new listings hitting the market last month, February 2016 also saw the fewest new listings on record for a February, just barely beating out the previous low set in 2014.

Basically, if you’re buying a home in the Seattle area right now, expect to have very little selection and lots of strong competition. Not a fun time to be a home buyer.

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February Stats Preview: No Good News for Buyers

Posted on by The Tim

With another extra-long February in the books, let’s have a look at our monthly stats preview. First up, here’s the snapshot of all the data as far back as my historical information goes, with the latest, high, and low values highlighted for each series:

Sorry buyers, the glimmer of hope we saw in last month’s numbers has completely faded. Inventory was flat month-over-month, which is not a great sign for any potential spring inventory increases. Meanwhile, sales began their usual seasonal surge, and were up slightly from last year. Foreclosures continue to remain near their historic lows.

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Case-Shiller: Home Prices Finish 2015 on a Strong Note

Posted on by The Tim

Let’s have a look at the latest data from the Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

The Seattle area’s month-over-month home price change was positive in December, but not quite as high as it was in November. The year-over-year price change is inching back up almost into double digits, as well. The only possible sign of relief for home buyers is that the increase in year-over-year price gains is slowing just slightly.

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Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl Ad: Let’s Repeat the Bubble!

Posted on by The Tim

This ad for Quicken Loans’ “Rocket Mortgage” app aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday…

Wow. It is like the people at Quicken Loans who are responsible for promoting their Rocket Mortgage app somehow completely missed the previous housing bubble and the massive economic fallout when it burst.

Yes, let’s make it super easy for everyone to buy homes! What could possibly go wrong?

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NWMLS: Pending and Closed Home Sales Slow in January

Posted on by The Tim

Get access to the full spreadsheets used to make the charts in this and other posts, as well as a variety of additional insider benefits by becoming a member of Seattle Bubble. January market stats were published by the NWMLS yesterday. Before we get into our monthly stats, here’s a quick look at their press…

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