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While COVID-19 has affected local real estate activity during the statewide shutdown, my video shows just how resilient the market has been. The number of pending King County home sales this past week actually exceeded last year’s weekly figure. Good news for sure! Connect with me if you want to see how your neighborhood is trending.
economy • market trends • statistics •
May 11, 2020
Matthew Gardner – My 2020 Job Market Forecast
Job growth is critical to the health of the housing market, so on this week’s episode of “Mondays with Matthew”, Matthew Gardner analyzes the effect of COVID-19 on employment and what we can expect for the duration of the year.
economy • market trends • statistics •
May 11, 2020
Matthew Gardner – Are We Heading Towards Another Housing Bubble?
This week on “Mondays with Matthew”, Matthew Gardner addresses the growing concern that the housing market is heading towards a repeat of the 2008 meltdown. He uses data to illustrate how we are in a very different place than when the housing bubble burst.
economy • interest rates • market trends •
May 11, 2020
Analyzing the Mortgage Market with Matthew Gardner
In this week’s episode of “Mondays with Matthew” Matthew Gardner tackles part two of his series analyzing the mortgage market. Today he turns his focus to the conforming mortgage market and the recent volatility of interest rates. He also provides an updated 2020 interest rate forecast.
economy • market trends • real estate • statistics •
March 30, 2020
Mondays with Matthew #1
Here is the latest market update from Windermere Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner.
bellevue • listings • real estate •
March 13, 2020
Newport Hills
5229 120th Ave SE, Bellevue – $950,000
5 Beds | 2.75 Baths | 2,800 Sqft
Charming daylight rambler on quiet street in Newport Hills. A wall of windows floods the living room with natural light. Kitchen flows to spacious dining with slider to private patio, perfect for BBQs. Master on main floor with ¾ bath. Lower level with plenty of potential currently features family room with fireplace which opens to a tranquil back yard retreat. Plenty of storage space. TPO roof. Walk to community pool and tennis courts. Award-winning schools: Lake Heights, Tyee, Newport.
listings • real estate • renton •
March 13, 2020
May Creek Highlands
4619 NE 21st Pl, Renton – $735,000
4 Beds | 2.5 Baths | 2,420 Sqft
Traditional two-story on quiet cul-de-sac in Brandalwood. Dramatic entry into light filled living and dining featuring vaulted ceilings. Chef’s kitchen with stunning granite countertops, large eating area, and hardwood floors, opens to cozy family room with gas fireplace. Retreat to the master bedroom, featuring vaulted ceilings and 5 piece bath with soaking tub. BBQ on the entertainment size deck or relax by the fire pit. 3 car garage with workshop. New appliances, new carpet and paint.
bellevue • listings • real estate •
March 11, 2020
Somerset Tudor
5275 Highland Drive, $1,180,000
4 Beds | 2.5 Baths | 2,760 Sqft
Your own private sanctuary in sought-after Somerset. Spacious kitchen with eating area opens to family room featuring wood burning fireplace and hardwood floors. Formal dining flows to cozy living room with fireplace. Retreat to the entertainment size deck nestled in the secluded back yard. Luxurious master suite with custom walk in closet and 5-piece bath with jetted tub. Convenient location near shopping, freeway access, parks and walking trail. Award winning schools: Somerset, Tyee, Newport.
Love Lake Hills
912 165th Ave SE, Bellevue $700,000
3 bedroom, 1.5 bath
Charming tri-level on a quiet street in Lake Hills. Spacious living room with fireplace opens to light-filled dining and kitchen with a huge skylight. Master bedroom with half bath and custom closet. Two bedrooms have been combined to create a spacious suite, easily converted back. One additional bedroom upstairs, and family room downstairs. New vinyl windows with exterior shades, fresh paint, and hardwood floors. Move-in ready with lots of potential for easy upgrades too. Fenced backyard with covered patio, perfect for entertaining. Convenient location to downtown and parks. Walkable to sought after Bellevue schools. This is a great place to start!
economy • interest rates • market trends • real estate • statistics •
January 22, 2020
Gardner Report Q4 2019
THE GARDNER REPORT – FOURTH QUARTER 2019
[THE STATE OF] REAL ESTATE
The following analysis of the Western Washington real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner. We hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
ECONOMIC OVERVIEW
Employment in Washington State continues to soften; it is currently at an annual growth rate of 1.7%. I believe that is a temporary slowdown and we will see the pace of employment growth improve as we move further into the new year. It’s clear that businesses are continuing to feel the effects of the trade war with China and this is impacting hiring practices. This is, of course, in addition to the issues that Boeing currently faces regarding the 737 MAX.
In the fourth quarter of 2019 the state unemployment rate was 4.4%, marginally lower than the 4.5% level of a year ago. My most recent economic forecast suggests that statewide job growth in 2020 will rise 2.2%, with a total of 76,300 new jobs created.
HOME SALES
There were 18,322 home sales registered during the final quarter of 2019, representing an impressive increase of 4.7% from the same period in 2018.
Readers may remember that listing activity spiked in the summer of 2018 but could not be sustained, with the average number of listings continuing to fall. Year-over-year, the number of homes for sale in Western Washington dropped 31.7%.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, sales rose in nine counties and dropped in six. The greatest growth was in Whatcom County. San Juan County had significant declines, but this is a very small market which makes it prone to extreme swings.
Pending home sales — a barometer for future closings — dropped 31% between the third and fourth quarters of 2019, suggesting that we may well see a dip in the number of closed sales in the first quarter of 2020.
HOME PRICES
Home price growth in Western Washington spiked during fourth quarter, with average prices 8.3% higher than a year ago. The average sale price in Western Washington was $526,564, 0.7% higher than in the third quarter of 2019.
It’s worth noting that above-average price growth is happening in markets some distance from the primary job centers. I strongly feel this is due to affordability issues, which are forcing buyers farther out.
Compared to the same period a year ago, price growth was strongest in San Juan County, where home prices were up 41.7%. Six additional counties also saw double-digit price increases.
Home prices were higher in every county contained in this report. I expect this trend to continue in 2020, but we may see a softening in the pace of growth in some of the more expensive urban areas.
DAYS ON MARKET
The average number of days it took to sell a home dropped four days compared to the third quarter of 2019.
For the second quarter in a row, Thurston County was the tightest market in Western Washington, with homes taking an average of 29 days to sell. In nine counties, the length of time it took to sell a home dropped compared to the same period a year ago. Market time rose in four counties and two were unchanged.
Across the entire region, it took an average of 47 days to sell a home in the fourth quarter. This was up nine days over the third quarter of this year.
Market time remains below the long-term average across the region, a trend that will likely continue until we see more inventory come to market — possibly as we move through the spring.
CONCLUSIONS
This speedometer reflects the state of the region’s real estate market using housing inventory, price gains, home sales, interest rates, and larger economic factors.
The housing market ended the year on a high note, with transactions and prices picking up steam. I believe the uncertainty of 2018 (when we saw significant inventory enter the market) has passed and home buyers are back in the market. Unfortunately, buyers’ desire for more inventory is not being met and I do not see any significant increase in listing activity on the horizon. As such, I have moved the needle more in favor of home sellers.
This post originally appeared on the Windermere.com Blog.
