House Sales Jump 38% for Seattle Market in January

Home sales in the Seattle market ticked up in January after a slow December, though sales were lower than a year ago.

Sales in King County rose 38 percent from December to last month, but fell 11 percent year-over-year as high home prices and interest rates still challenge buyers, the Seattle Times reported.

A typical seasonal uptick in sales was bolstered by mortgage rates that leveled off in January, which real estate agents hope will nudge more homeowners to sell their properties and more buyers to return to the hunt by spring.

Compared to a year ago, January sales in Seattle fell 12.5 percent, while the typical price for a home rose 8.1 percent to $869,000. Sales also fell 6 percent in Southwest King County, and 5.4 percent in Southeast King County, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

At the same time, sales on the Eastside rose 7.6 percent, with typical homes rising 11 percent to $1.465 million. Sales rose 6.1 percent in North King County.

Seattle-area homes still spend more time on the market than during 2021 and 2022, according to the Times.

Eastside Redfin agent Hal Bennett had hoped lower mortgage rates and more homes for sale would “cause the market to take off right at the start of the new year.

“But even though demand has picked up some, I’m not wowed,” Bennett said in a recent Redfin report. “Now I believe this year’s market will launch in the spring.”

Median home prices remained flat across most of the Puget Sound from December to January, and were higher than a year ago.

The typical single-family home sold for about $850,000 in King County, up 9 percent year-over-year. Median homes rose 4 percent to $730,000 in Snohomish County; rose 4 percent to $540,000 in Pierce County; and increased 12 percent to $550,000 in Kitsap County.

Median condo prices also were higher than a year ago, up 10 percent in Seattle to $537,500 and up 5 percent on the Eastside to $570,000.

— Dana Bartholomew