FSBO MLS Available in Washington State for $285

For Sale By Owner's in the Multiple Listing Service for $285 for Washington State

Monday, February 19, 2024

DOJ to court: Buyers need to set their agents’ compensation

A statement of interest filed late Thursday by the Department of Justice savages the proposed MLS PIN settlement, and calls out MLSs for limiting competition. Story by Dave Gallagher, Director, News Reporting


Calling the proposed MLS PIN settlement one that only makes "cosmetic changes," the U.S. Department of Justice provided a harsh response that could have implications for the other national buyer agent class action lawsuits.

In its statement of interest, filed in the Nosalek case to the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts Thursday evening, Feb. 15, the DOJ provided some suggestions of what should be in the MLS PIN settlement with the plaintiffs, who are homeowners in the area. One proposal was an injunction "that would prohibit sellers from making commission offers to buyer brokers at all," which would completely change how commissions work. Read Dave's full report...

Friday, February 16, 2024

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Market Recap - released by NWMLS

 Published on: 

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

Market Recap

Real estate market activity has remained slow in accordance with typical seasonal patterns. Interest rates held steady through the month of January to end at 6.69%; at the time of this publication, there was a slight decrease to 6.63%. For the Washington counties covered by the NWMLS, January 2024 saw a 3% increase in closed sales transactions year-over-year, an improvement from December 2023’s year-over-year change in closed sales transactions, which was a decrease of 11%. Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in January 2024 was $593,500, up 6.5% when compared to January 2023 ($557,250).

Important takeaways from January’s data:

  • The median sales price increased year-over-year 19 out of 26 counties, with the highest median sale prices in King ($760,000), San Juan ($757,000) and Snohomish ($700,000). The three counties with the lowest median priced homes sold were Columbia ($235,000), Pacific ($250,900) and Grays Harbor ($305,000).
  • The volume of homes on the market has continued to decline throughout Washington with 15 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year decrease. There were 7,084 active listings on the market at the end of January 2024, a decrease of nearly 14% compared to January 2023 (8,220).
  • Despite the decrease in available inventory, 13 of the 26 counties in the report experienced an increase in the number of homes sold year-over-year.
  • Condominium sales jumped nearly 21% year-over-year, with 492 units sold in January 2024. The median price of condominium sales increased 7% year-over-year from $424,000 in January 2023 to $453,750 in January 2024.

“Seller reluctance has led to a continued decline in year-over-year inventory levels, an overall 14% decrease of active listings on the market,” said Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington. “Encouragingly, year-over-year sales transactions saw a 3% improvement over January 2023. Low levels of for-sale inventory have led to increased competition amongst buyers, producing a nearly 7% year-over-year increase in median home prices across the Washington counties covered by the NWMLS.”

Thursday, February 1, 2024

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Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Federal Reserve signals it’s not yet prepared to reduce rates

Central bank policymakers said that they aren’t yet ready to start cutting rates, according to their meeting statement.

“The Committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent,” the statement said.

Read full story


Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Federal Reserve keeps key interest rate unchanged and foresees 3 rate cuts next year

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a third straight time, and its officials signaled that they expect to make three quarter-point cuts to their benchmark rate next year.

The Fed’s message Wednesday strongly suggested that it is finished with rate hikes — after the fastest increases in four decades — and is edging closer to cutting rates as early as next summer.

Read full report

Monday, December 11, 2023

Reduced inventory motivates increased home prices

Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of November 2023.

Market Recap

A slight decrease in interest rates has raised cautious optimism – interest rates had fallen to around 7.2% as of December 1, 2023, in comparison to 7.8% in October 2023, and a continuation of that decrease would have a positive impact on the market in general. However, the decline in seasonal inventory continues to drive home prices upward, spurring an increase of 4.6% in prices from November 2022:

  • NWMLS brokers reported 4,367 closed sales in November 2023, which is a 16% drop from closed sales in November 2022 (5,194). However, this is a slight improvement from October’s year-over-year change in closed sales, which decreased 18% when compared to October 2022.
  • While most counties in the NWMLS report (19 of 26) saw a decrease in the number of homes sold, seven of the counties saw a year-over-year increase, including Grant, Okanogan, Kittitas, Walla Walla, San Juan, Adams and Ferry counties.
  • The median sales price increased year-over-year in 21 of the 26 total counties included in the statistical report. Overall, the median price for homes sold in November 2023 was $601,341, up 4.6% when compared to November 2022 ($575,000). The three counties with the highest median priced homes sold were San Juan ($975,000), King ($799,925) and Snohomish ($703,635). The three counties with the lowest median priced homes sold were Grant ($327,999), Ferry ($313,750) and Adams ($221,500).
  • When compared to the same month last year, November 2023 experienced a 17% decrease in the number of active property listings on the market. The total volume of homes for sale has continued to decline, with 19 out of 26 counties seeing a year-over-year decrease.

Although the number of sales transactions and housing inventory levels typically drop in the fall and winter months, the expected seasonal slow-down continues to be exacerbated by the high interest rate environment for buyers relying on mortgages.

“With the 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently just over 7.2%, the purchasing power of prospective buyers remains stunted relative to a few short years ago,” said Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington. “Moreover, current owners with low-rate mortgages continue to be reluctant to sell. This has led to a continued decline in year-over-year transaction volume and the inventory levels in the market.”