Tag Archive for Seattle housing inventory

First Time Home Buyer Market in Seattle

How’s the first time home buyer market doing in Seattle?  Competition is still STIFF.  Low inventory levels are still leading to multiple offer situations and even some bidding wars.  Months of inventory (essentially supply vs. demand) is at about 1 month for entry level housing in North Seattle.  Many other first time home buyer demographics are seeing similar trends, which means its a seller’s market in many places around the Greater Seattle area.

So when will it get better for first time home buyers?  In When Will We See More Listings?, we described a potential timeline for more listings coming on the market in the near future.  We’re still speculating that this may come to fruition in late spring/early summer of this year.  If this is the case, first time home buyers should have more to choose from in the next 4-6 months or so.

So should first time home buyers wait until there are more choices? 
In our past blog we also described some pros/cons for waiting.  There are numerous variables to consider such as appreciation levels, interest rates, life circumstances, etc.  It really just depends on your specific situation, so you should gather information based on YOUR goals, not necessarily what the media is covering in general.

Don’t make the biggest decision of your life without getting educated! 
If you’d like to learn more about first time home buyer inventory levels in your specific area, or about the home buying process in general, please go to our Calendar/Reservations page and sign up for one our FREE First Time Home Buyer workshops.

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When Will We See More Listings?

          

When will we see more listings in the Greater Seattle area?  This has been a major question on many first time home buyers minds.  In the housing market decline many home owners lost enough of their equity position that they ended up under water, or owing more on their mortgage than the house was worth.  This often prevents them from selling.

Is this still the case with many home owners?  This equation is definitely changing due to all the appreciation we have seen in the Greater Seattle area.  Depending on the demographic that you’re looking at, many areas values are about where they were in 2006.  If prices continue to rise we may get to 2007 levels at the end of 2013 or early 2014.

Will this cause more home owners to list?  This definitely could be the case.  Many economists speculate that there are a lot of home owners that either bought or did a cash out refi in 2006-2007, that would really like to sell but won’t be able to until values reach these prior year levels.

Should first time home buyers wait until there’s more available inventory to buy?  That really depends on your specific situation.  If you wait for more inventory, it’s quite likely home values and interest rates will continue to rise.  However, if you currently have room to afford more house and aren’t concerned with being priced out of the market, waiting might help you find a home that better fits your needs.

Don’t make the biggest financial decision of your life without getting educated!  If you’d like to find out more about todays current housing market or the home buying process in general, please go to our Calendar/Reservations page and register for one of our FREE First Time Home Buyer workshops.

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