SEATTLE — As 2022 comes to a close, new numbers show that home prices may finally be leveling off across Western Washington.
In November 2022, median home prices in Seattle were up only 6.5% compared to a year earlier, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
That compares to dramatic, double-digit increases earlier in 2022, when the divide between buyer and seller couldn’t be clearer.
“I keep looking at Redfin and Zillow all the time to see if I’m getting something great, something that I’m looking for,” said prospective buyer Aarti Bellemi.
“We got rid of (our house) within two days, got more than we expected, and it was a good thing to walk away from,” noted home seller Satjaet Penaich.
As the year ends, though, those lines are starting to blur.
“We’re moving into a balanced market, which most of us are actually excited about,” said Kelly Nutt, a Realtor with John L. Scott Bothell.
Nutt told KIRO 7 it was unrealistic for anyone to think that home prices would keep spiking.
In fact, he said the rate of appreciation these past few years was absolutely unprecedented.
“I wasn’t getting an income raise of 40% every year. People can’t afford it. Affordability is a huge factor in all of this,” he said.
In the run-up to 2023, home experts like Nutt insist consistency is key.
While home prices aren’t spiking anymore, he said they won’t drastically fall either.
“There’s no doom and gloom; the sky isn’t falling,” Nutt told KIRO 7.
As a result, buyers like Bellemi are still faced with a challenge.
“It’s still kind of tough, because of the crazy market and the interest rates,” said Bellemi. “We’re still waiting for the interest rates to go down, and then we think it’s the right time to buy.”
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