If there’s one thing most early forecasters agree on, it’s that home prices will continue to rise. Where they differ however, is how much they will rise.
The median price of a home across the Seattle metro area has now soared 80 percent since bottoming out five years ago, and its up 20 percent over the old pre-bubble peak a decade ago.
As Seattle marks a full year as America’s hottest housing market, with no end in sight, recent predictions from housing analysts suggest that the Seattle real estate market could continue to outpace the nation well into 2018, in terms of home price appreciation.
Seattle is now a full year into its reign as the hottest housing market in the country, an unusually long surge that doesn’t look likely to end anytime soon.
Single-family home prices across the metro area grew 13.2 percent in August compared to a year prior, easily the most in the nation and twice the U.S. average, according to the monthly Case-Shiller home-price index, released Tuesday.
Seattle has had the biggest annual home-price gains of any region in the country for 12 straight months. That’s the fifth-longest streak in the country since 2000, and the longest since Phoenix led the nation in home-value increases for 13 months in a row from 2012 to 2013.
While there are signs that the nation’s real estate market is beginning to cool down, the Seattle-area continues to be red hot.
In fact, a recent forecast for the Seattle housing market extending into the summer of 2018 suggests that the city will continue to outperform the nation as a whole, with annual price growth above 7%. Limited inventory is a leading cause for this bold prediction.
The Zillow group forecast now expect the median home value in the Seattle area to rise by 7.3% over the next 12 months. But why stop at 7.3%? Another real estate forecaster offered an even bolder outlook for the Seattle housing market in 2018. Veros Real Estate Solutions, a property valuation company, recently predicted double-digit price gains for the Seattle area. They predicted that house values would rise by 10.7% during the 12 months from March 2017 to March 2018.
Why industry players see The Seattle metro area as the best place for business in 2018.
Seattle has long been in the top 10 metro areas in the influential “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” study put out annually by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. Last year, looking at 2017, the report rated us No. 4. The new forecast, released today, places Seattle No. 1 for next year.
Based on 1,600 interviews with property owners, developers, real-estate advisory firms, homebuilders, lenders and other investors, Emerging Trends is a gold-standard look at where various real estate sectors are headed. The other top markets are Austin, Salt Lake City, Raleigh-Durham, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Los Angeles, San Jose, Nashville and Boston. Portland ranks No. 13. Boise scored 31 and Spokane was 57.
To be sure, the report is primarily for those working and investing in real estate, but it’s considered an important measure of economic conditions. Obviously, this is daunting news for potential homebuyers and renters. Good news for homeowners.
The forecast noted a positive outlook for all segments in Seattle, especially industrial and single-family housing. Among Seattle’s strengths are population growth that’s twice the national average; a diverse economy with a young, educated workforce; abundant capital; and top rankings for walkability and outdoor activities. We benefit from having twice the U.S. average — 12 percent — working in STEM occupations. Although rising prices nationally don’t guarantee new homebuilding, Seattle ranked 10th in homebuilding prospects for next year.
Find Out What Your Home Is Worth
Overall, home costs here are growing at more than double the national rate of 6.1 percent. That’s been the case for the last year. And home prices continue to outpace wage growth, which was 3.6 percent nationally in August.
So, when will Seattle’s run as the hottest market end?
Probably not anytime soon, given the gap between Seattle and the rest of the country. The second-hottest market, now Las Vegas, saw prices grow 8.6 percent, nearly 5 percentage points less than Seattle.
The Cascade Team Real Estate is a company like no other because of the marketing, service and home seller savings we provide. We understand that in today’s real estate & home selling environment, we need to provide a high level of real estate service and wide spread marketing of the home for sale, utilize technology to keep our home seller clients in the communication loop and provide added value to both buyers and home sellers in the real estate transaction. The effective use of technology tools allows our local Seattle & San Diego real estate agents to focus more of their time on servicing our clients and finding buyers for your home, all the while providing the most comprehensive real estate marketing program available. In the end, you get the perfect combination of online real estate tools and personal service in the home selling process.
Posted by Cary W Porter on
Leave A Comment