Provided to the MPT
Our days are transitioning from blossoming buds to golden sunshine, signaling the shift from spring to the vibrant summer season. It’s time to pack away our umbrellas and raincoats and embrace my favorite time of year in the Emerald City. The leaves on the trees are showing off their glorious green hues, restaurants have added fresh, seasonal offerings to their menus, and the scent of sea breeze dances through the air.
The arrival of warmer weather does typically signal a continued season of activity in our local real estate market, with more buyers activating on the market and sellers preparing to position their homes for sale. As we look at data in the Central Seattle/Madison Park/Capitol Hill area from Jan. 1 to late May, we can start to see a pick-up in activity. Overall, inventory is up dramatically year-to-date, with buyers benefiting from 2.7 months of inventory (versus just 1 month during this same timeframe in 2022). This doesn’t mean, however, that the market no longer favors sellers.
Simply put, a well-positioned and well-priced home will still find success—albeit at a slightly lengthier market time than in 2022, as the average days on market hovers just around one month. Year-over-year data shows a slight dip in the median sales price, from $1.1 million in 2022 to $1,015,000 in 2023, and average price per square foot, from $682 to $617. However, when we look to the start of the spring sales season, we are starting to see the numbers tick back up slightly, indicating that things are in alignment with our typical uptick in activity through the spring and summer season.
Looking to the downtown Seattle core, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty recently reported an inflection point arriving to downtown Seattle, as more than two-thirds of the active new condominium inventory is now sold and prices were recently adjusted at Graystone, an elegant 271-unit building in First Hill. The principal just announced a 30 percent reduction on list prices, so there is a real opportunity for condo buyers right now. The residential renaissance is happening as Seattle just topped the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of fastest-growing big cities in 2022. It will take another $500 per square foot in sales value to pencil a new tower and many years to see that manifest. As RSIR predicts, our city is on track to repopulate its urban centers — and now could be the time to get ahead of the opportunity at Graystone, with prices from the low $300Ks.
Would you like to know more about our local market fundamentals as you plan your real estate goals for the rest of the year? I’d love to see you at Park House. Please stop by the Sotheby’s International Realty office for a visit at 4031 E. Madison St. and say hello — I’m always up for a cup of coffee and good conversation. Stop by the office or give me a call at 206-949-4497.
Cindy Paur is Managing Broker & Founding Member, RSIR Madison Park Office. Reach her at Cindy.Paur@SothebysRealty.com or 206-949-4497 or at CindyPaur.com.