Condo December market report: median price declines 11% from November

I was surprised to see that the median price for condos in Seattle increased from October to November so seeing a steep decline from November to December aligns with my feeling that generally condos are a tough sell right now – especially downtown and on Capitol Hill.

But buyers are out there. 200 people closed on condos in December, down slightly from November but more than we normally see in December.

And buyers were more active in December than they were in November putting 181 condos under contract, up from 165 and way up from the 133 we saw in December 2019.

Sellers were not as active as buyers listing only 146 new listings. But that’s still a lot more than December 2019’s 80.

With more active buyers than sellers at the end of the month we saw a steep decline in the number of condos for sale which will likely mean we don’t see as big of a median price decline next month as the months of supply is decreasing.

As I’ve written before, condos will be a tough sell until offices, restaurants and bars re-open making urban living more attractive. Condos are also a tough sell as apartments cut rents making renting more attractive than buying, even with the low interest rates that we’re seeing.