Is the cooling of the housing market in Seattle already over? Redfin report shows a rise in pending sales – GeekWire



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Seattle
Seattle has been the country's most fashionable real estate market for almost two years. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Two months after predicting that technology hubs such as Seattle could be awarded a significant real estate recharge in 2019, Redfin's state-of-the-art broker released a report Wednesday that cooling was possible. -being already finished.

Redfin pointed to a 15% annual increase in pending sales in January, an indicator of the number of contracted dwellings in that month. This is the first increase in pending sales since November 2017 and the highest since December 2016, the company said in a blog post.

San Jose, California, and Boston were also cited in the report as cities to watch, with expected sales increases of 8% and 4% respectively.

While closed sales are still down in Seattle (down 8%) and in other cities, Redfin explains why the rise in pending sales suggests that these numbers may soon increase.

"The second half of 2018 was frustrating for the sellers who traded as the market started to cool," said Redfin chief economist, Daryl Fairweather, in the report. "Since then, more and more sellers have lowered their prices, which has resulted in more houses being taken off the market. Buyers who remain wait-and-see, knowing that the market is moving in their favor, may want to take a fresh look at the homes they've preferred in the fall. We see this moment before the arrival of spring as an opportunity to get a house that has been on the market for a few months under contract for a price well below the initial list price. "

For almost two years, Seattle has been the most popular housing market in the United States, as job seekers flooded the region with highly paid technicians, increasing the cost of housing as low inventories fueled the economy. the auction wars.

Factors to watch for in 2019 and beyond include Amazon, whose accelerated growth has been at the center of the Seattle boom. Many are looking to see if the tech giant will reduce his growth in his hometown.

(Redfin Graphic)

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