More Homes and Less Buyers – A Real Estate Conundrum

Market Recap

•         Active Inventory up 39.4%
•         Pending Sales Dropped -1.4%
•         Sold Homes only increased 1.9% despite the increase in available inventory
•         Median Sales price increased a modest 3.6%

Traditionally a quiet month, February’s market activity reflected consumer sentiment in two important areas: affordability and available inventory.

30-year mortgage rates dropped slightly from 6.95% to 6.76%, but that may not be enough to encourage buyers when faced with continuing rising prices. The median price for residential homes and condominiums rose 2.4% from $615,000 in January 2025 to $630,000 in February 2025.

Although the number of active listings is significantly higher than a year ago (39.4% greater), the annual growth in the number of transactions is much smaller (only 1.9%). “On balance relative to a year ago, more homeowners are wanting to sell,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER), “but buyers continue to be challenged by affordability.”

New Listings

The number of homes for sale increased 39.4% year-over-year throughout the NWMLS service area. There were 10,448 active listings on the market at the end of February 2025, with 24 out of 26 counties seeing a double-digit increase compared to February 2024. When compared to the previous month, active inventory increased by 207 listings (+2%), up from 10,241 in January 2025.

The six counties with the highest increases in active inventory were Kittitas (+76.7%), Snohomish (+65.3%), Grant (+54.2%), King (+52%), Whatcom (+48.2%) and Chelan (+42.7%).

Pending Sales

There were 5,863 residential units & condo units under contract in February 2025, a slight decrease (-1.4%) when compared to February 2024 (5,945). When compared to the previous month, the number of pending listings increased by 5.4%, up from 5,564 listings under contract in January 2025.

Closed Sales

The number of closed sales increased slightly by 1.9% year-over-year (4,268 in February 2025 compared to 4,189 in February 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales increased by 14.5%, up from 3,727 sales in January 2025.

Median Sales Price

• Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in February 2025 was $630,000, an increase of 3.6% when compared to February 2024 ($608,111).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($880,000), King ($820,000) and Snohomish ($734,975), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Columbia ($224,000), Pacific $292,500) and Okanogan ($322,500).

New Construction

• NWMLS brokers reported 745 closed sales of new construction units in February 2025. This was a year-over-year decrease of 12.1% when compared to February 2024 (848 units).
• The median sales price for new construction units sold in February 2025 was $773,420, an increase of 5.9% from the February 2024 price of $730,000

• Timing the Market can put Money in your Pocket

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