Single-family January market report: record # of closings, new listings
The numbers for what the Seattle single-family and townhome real estate market did in January are out.
The headline is likely that we saw more closings in January 2021 than we’ve ever seen in a January before. January closings are mostly buyers who were under contract in December affirming what we already knew, December was unusually busy for buyers.
As for price, the median price ticked up a bit to $780,000. Dollars per square foot was also up to $480.
We saw a record number of new listings in January, good news for buyers starting their search early this year but competition is fierce with many homes’ showing calendars filling up completely prior to their offer review deadlines.
At the end of the month there 581 homes for sale.
The depressing chart for buyers is months of supply, which is the measure of how long it’d take to sell all the homes for sale. At the end of January it was 0.8 months. We’ve seen lower, but those were years when competition for homes was intense.
Our prediction for the year is that the first six months are going to be intense for buyers. There’s going to be a reasonable selection of inventory but competition for it will be fierce. Early in the year, buyers should be patient. Some people will buy homes in January and February at prices that they’ll likely later regret.
As for sellers, get on the market sooner rather than later!
