Snohomish Co. Inventory Update

[S-Crow]

My understanding and talking with agents is that inventory in Snohomish Co. is now about 61% higher than this time last year (for residential & condos).

[rose-colored-coolaid]

S-Crow, for perspective...do you remember how the market up north was last February? I remember Snohomish County started to see issues earlier than King County, but I don't remember if we saw issues at the start of the year, or if they began to pop up closer to summer time.

Thanks

[S-Crow]

Sure, here's background: In Sno. Co. last year at the end of February the residential + condo inventory was reported to be about 4200 units. Currently, inventory is about 5600 units and we are not barely into February.

The agents on this board should be able to verify these figures. Notice though, this does not include all the other property that is not listed but currently for sale via other means: Zillow, Craigslist, print media, etc... So,the take away is that inventory is building and at a rate of over 3:1 vs. sales ytd. Sales are currently lethargic compared to recent record years. For a lot of people this is what is so different about the current environment and excruciatingly difficult to understand as a seller. Have you ever driven a 100mph for a few minutes? Now, drive the freeway speed limit. It feels like you are going 20 mph.

If the current low interest rates does little to spur buyers in February, I would expect that the list to sale ratios will spread further and put more pressure on prices and incentives.