{"id":105874,"date":"2019-09-10T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/?p=105874"},"modified":"2019-09-10T09:23:39","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T16:23:39","slug":"nwmls-new-listings-dry-up-as-home-prices-plateau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/10\/nwmls-new-listings-dry-up-as-home-prices-plateau\/","title":{"rendered":"NWMLS: New listings dry up as home prices plateau"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The NWMLS published their August stats yesterday, so let’s take a look at how the month shook out for the housing market.<\/p>\n

As we mentioned in yesterday’s preview post<\/a>, the biggest story is a sudden, renewed shortage of inventory.<\/p>\n

Before we get into our detailed monthly stats, here’s a quick look at their press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Home Buyers Seeking Affordability Are Expanding Search Outside Greater Seattle Job Centers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Depleted inventory continues to frustrate would-be buyers in Western Washington. Many of these potential homeowners are expanding their search beyond the major job centers in King County, according to market watchers who commented on the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
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\n“While August is always a slower time for listings and sales, what is really surprising this year is the decrease in new listings taken, while pending sales increased,” observed Mike Grady, president and COO of Coldwell Banker Bain.
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\nMultiple offers are still commonplace with many buyers walking away disappointed, according to Wilson. “Traffic is strong at open houses and our average market time is still very low for correctly priced homes,” he added.<\/p>\n

“The August numbers offered a few interesting nuggets,” stated OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate. “The Seattle area housing market is still coming off the ‘sugar high’ that we saw last summer, but homes sales and prices are stabilizing, which is reassuring to both buyers and sellers.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Quick note: According to data from Redfin<\/a>, multiple offers are far from “commonplace” now. In August fewer than 10 percent of offers in the Seattle area faced competition. (Disclosure: Tim works for Redfin.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

However, new listings are indeed way down. Let’s get into the data to quantify the drop.<\/p>\n

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CAUTION<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

NWMLS monthly reports include an undisclosed and varying number<\/a> of
sales from previous months in their pending and closed sales statistics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here’s your King County SFH summary, with the arrows to show whether the year-over-year direction of each indicator is favorable or unfavorable news for buyers and sellers (green = favorable, red = unfavorable):<\/p>\n