August 2021 Housing Market Update (NWMLS Press Release)

Home buyers are finding some relief, but Northwest MLS brokers say it is temporary

*NOTE* – the data we are looking at is from the full month of July. The NWMLS comprises 26 of Washington’s 39 counties, mostly in the western part of the state.

Here are the bullet points from the newest press release from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which provides housing market data for most of Western Washington:

• New listings passed pending sales by a small margin.
• “August historically is the last month of the year with elevated levels of new listings before they slowly taper down in the fall and decline more substantially over the winter.”
• “There seems to be a bit of a leveling off from the market frenzy.”
• Prices continue to climb by double digits in all but a few counties.
• Advice to buyers: “Take advantage of this time before Labor Day and the fall market.”
• Advice to sellers: “Overpricing a listing in this market is still a big mistake.”
• Prices in suburban counties and along much of the I-5 corridor have increased sharply in the last two years.
• “With interest rates staying at historically low levels and less than a one-month supply throughout the region, the perfect storm for rising house prices will continue, but perhaps not as ferociously as before.”
• Building supply chain slowdowns and a scarcity of skilled workers has contributed to the lack of affordability.
• The pattern continues: low inventory and high demand from low interest rates.

To read the full press release, click here.