Lowered mortgage rates provide boost but affordability remains elusive

Published on: October 3, 2024

Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of September 2024.

Market Recap

The further reduction of interest rates in September by the Federal Reserve provided a positive end-of-the-summer boost to the market. Double-digit increases in active and new listings and single-digit increases in median home prices demonstrated a tentative balance between the ongoing seller’s market and newfound buyer confidence.

However, experts caution that without deeper cuts to interest rates, housing affordability will remain out of reach for many would-be buyers. “Interest rates remain over double what they were just three years ago (6.08% at the end of September versus 3.01% at the same time in 2021 for 30-year fixed rate mortgages). This continues to have a major impact on affordability,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) at the University of Washington. “It seems unlikely that the volume of transactions will pick up substantially without some significant improvement in affordability.”

September 2024 Key Takeaways

Active and New Listings

• The number of homes for sale increased throughout the NWMLS coverage area, with 22 out of 26 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase.
• There was a 31.4% increase in the total number of properties listed for sale, with 15,748 active listings on the market at the end of September 2024, compared to 11,983 at the end of September 2023.
• NWMLS brokers added 8,508 new listings to the database in September 2024, , an increase of 12.7% compared to September 2023 (7,551).
• The five counties with highest increases in active inventory for sale were Douglas (+67.8%), Pacific (+42.2%), Clallam (+41.6%), Grant (+40.5%) and San Juan (+39.8%).

Closed Sales

• The number of closed sales increased by 1.9% year-over-year (5,828 in September 2024) compared to 5,722 in September 2023.  
• 11 out of 26 counties saw an increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year, while 15 saw a decrease.

Median Sale Price

• Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in September 2024 was $635,000, an increase of 5.8% when compared to September 2023 ($600,000).
• The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($859,995), San Juan ($829,000), and Snohomish ($760,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Ferry ($209,500), Adams ($270,000) and Columbia ($325,000).

Consumer and Broker Activity

NWMLS also provided insights into consumer activities during the month of September 2024:

• The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software remained steady, with 119,927 showings in August 2024 and 119,900 in September 2024.
• In September 2024, there were 16,668 listed properties that were eligible for the Down Payment Resource (DPR) program offered by NWMLS.