Hot off the presses - 2023 recap and what to expect for another great real estate year in 2024. 

Whew, 2023! Thank you to the 20 groups of wonderful individuals, couples, and investors who trusted my guidance and expertise to have a great year, once again. I am thrilled to continue to be a Lake & Company top 10 producing broker as I've been many years in a row now, and I continue to rank amongst the top agents in our entire NWMLS (~30,000 agents!) as well. I also took the first part of 2023 to earn my Managing Broker license and am honored to stand in as Lake & Company's Principal Managing Broker in our wonderful owner's stead when needed. In addition, I attended an incredibly inspiring real estate conference called Genuine Hustle in Bend, OR with some fellow Lake agents and some of the nation's top agents sharing resources and information, and I enjoyed a fruitful real estate business planning workshop led by a couple of the best in the PNW biz, Nicole Mangina and Diane Terry. Staying up to date, relevant, and keeping my finger on the pulse is what it's all about, and pays in spades when family, friends, and referrals come to me for market advice, contractor referrals, and to make plans for future moves. It feels great to be able to informatively help and I realized this past year that that's what really fires me up about my career - being a beacon of light and a wealth of information for folks, helping guide them through what can be a confusing and challenging life transition, and to be a valued resource for life. 

2023 recap: despite the rising interest rates that hit mid-year we ended 2023 fairly strong - it’s evident that the housing market outperformed the predictions and fears of many analysts. Prices still escalated over asking (escalation trends hovered in the 3-10% over asking however, as opposed to some previous years which far exceeded that), and buyers were battling it out for well priced, marketed and prepped homes in good locations, as always. At the end of December 2023, the average single family home in Seattle (excluding condos, townhomes, and waterfront properties) was $1,029,187, which was down just a bit from the previous year, December 2022, which was $1,095,046. Surprisingly, despite the high rates, it was not that different. It also appears like we may finally have a hold on rising rates. In December, in relieving news for buyers, The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the 3rd straight time and indicated multiple cuts in 2024. Analysts & economists expect to see lower mortgage rates by mid-2024. While they have varying opinions on whether we’ll see 6% this year, many are optimistic that we’ll make a soft landing and a gradual recovery 2024 through 2025. 

We predict 2024 will be a transition year with some relief for buyers. We expect to see lower rates, millennials entering the buyer’s market, a resurgence of the backlog of buyers that were waiting out the higher interest rates of the past year to re-enter the market, as well as new 2024 buyers. As interest rates lower, sellers will be more wont to sell and move on as well (giving up sub 3% - 4% rates on existing mortgages), alleviating the tight inventory problem our greater Seattle area has suffered from for so long (read: more buyers than homes available to buy). New construction will contribute less to the new inventory than normal as building and borrowing costs have been high and thus, builders have stalled aggressive building this past year. All this combined with greater Seattle inventory not substantial enough to meet expected demand equates to competition amongst buyers and home sale prices increasing as they have YOY steadily for many years.  

Even though it's been brutally cold for us as of late, last week we saw 156 new listings hit the market in Seattle, up 23% from the week before, but still lagging the same week last year (likely some agents held back listing due to the weather). Meanwhile, Seattle buyers put 120 homes under contract, up 66% from the week before. Buyers are coming out! For the nicely priced, prepped, and marketed homes in good areas, we are already seeing early year bidding wars and aggressive buyer activity already. It does seem like 2024 will be another strong year.

New industry change: As of January 1st 2024, new Washington State law and our NWMLS now require written, signed buyer agency agreements for real estate agents to offer services to buyers, similar to listing agreements we sign when hired as a listing agent to market and sell your home. The goal is 100% transparency in commissions and representation to all parties to a real estate transaction - buyers, sellers, and agents. We have always been transparent about that but are now making it official. All buyers will need to sign this agreement with any agent to work with them going forward. 

To wrap up: the shift of equity from one home to another or purchasing a new home can be daunting, I know. There are so many factors to consider: timing, process, contractors, movers, what to do with all this stuff??, costs, proceeds, payoffs, etc. Please do reach out when you're ready - or long before you are! This is what I do. I help people plan and execute, and I do it well 😉  Happy to guide you to a positive outcome. Thanks for reading and here's to your success in 2024. 

P.S. Interested in stats for your city or specific neighborhood (they can trend pretty differently)? Ping me and I will happily send along.