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Western Washington saw one of the largest year-over-year decreases in active inventory last month. There were 3,333 properties for sale in January — a 23.2% decrease from January 2023, when there were 4,342 homes on the market. Only Las Vagas had a steeper nation drop in inventory levels.

As a result of the low housing inventory levels around Western Washington, we are returning to bidding war situations. Seattle area home sales increased by 7% in January, marking the first year-over-year increase since March 2022. Meanwhile, home sale prices increased by 3.4% year over year.

Additionally, the new commission rules are allowing Sellers to save 10’s of thousands in Buyer Agent commissions.

Cascade Team Saves Commissions For Sellers

Taking advantage of low inventory before more homes come on the market is important in maximizing value for your home. Interest rates still hover around 7% so as more homes come on the market in spring, the rule of supply v/s demand will kick in and we may see some downward pressure.

The new buyer’s agent rules have also caused a major influx of activity in open houses and can help sellers save additional fees on Buyer’s Agent commissions. You no longer have to offer a pre-set commission for the buyer’s agent. Those commissions are negotiable. And for buyers coming to an open house without an agent, they can make their offer significantly more competitive by not using a buyer’s agent (Typically saving the seller around $25,000 on a $1 million home.)

On this home in Sammamish listed at $1,925,000 we received 6 offers. All offers ended up being over $2 million. 3 (three) of those offers had a buyer’s agent. They all asked for 2.5%, which was over $50,000 in commissions. 3 additional (three) did NOT use a buyer’s agent and they were all also over $2 million. That make those 3 (three) offers far more favorable to the seller than the ones with a buyer’s agent’s commission.

Home for Sale in Trossachs, Sammamish
This Seller Made an Additional $160,000

This home for sale in Trossachs, a popular community in Sammamish, WA had buyers all over it. We got the seller multiple offers, they avoided paying a buyer agent commission, AND they saved thousands on the listing fee as well.

The winning offer went for $100,000 OVER and NO Buyers Commission, AND they waived everything (Financing, Inspection, Verification, ETC.) which saved another $50,000!  The net result being about a $160,000 benefit to the seller, AND happy buyers who didn’t have to pay a higher price to cover their buyer’s agent commissions. Learn More HERE

Following a verdict against The Nation Association of Realtors, new commission rules from our Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), have begun. Home buyers and sellers face the prospect of changes to how and what amount they pay their real estate agents. To help make sense of it all, we put together this FAQ

A LEADER IN LOWER FEES SINCE 2006

Since our founding in 2006, The Cascade Team has been a leader in lower fees and full-service real estate. From day one, our business model has been providing sellers with full service for less commissions with no sacrifices in client satisfaction.

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