High interest rates continue to influence inventory and growth

Published on: November 6, 2023

Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of October 2023.

Market Recap

Further increases in interest rates continue to influence the expected seasonal slow-down during fall and winter months:

• Most counties covered by NWMLS (24 of 26) saw a decrease in the number of homes sold with an average decline of 18%.  The median price of homes sold declined in 11 out of 26 counties, increased in 14, and remained virtually unchanged* in one county relative to October 2022.

*Unchanged = less than 0.5 percent change in median price

• The three counties with the highest median priced homes sold were San Juan County ($1,150,000), King County ($800,000) and Snohomish County ($700,322); the three counties with the lowest median priced homes sold were Grays Harbor ($325,000), Ferry ($177,500), and Columbia ($110,000)
• The volume of homes on the market has continued to decline throughout Washington with 20 out of 26 counties seeing a year over year decrease in the number of homes on the market. When compared to the same month last year, October 2023 experienced a 20% decrease in active property listings on the market in Washington counties covered by the NWMLS.

“With the 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently just shy of 8%, the purchasing power of prospective buyers has weakened further,” said Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington. “This has led to a continued decline in year-over-year transaction volume with overall median prices increasing by only 1% across counties covered by the NWMLS.”