Seattle & the Eastside Set New Price Records in February 2018
Though the winter months have historically given way to slowdowns within the Puget Sound real estate market, there was no sign of a slowdown in February 2018, as home prices in Seattle and on the Eastside reached new benchmark values. As Seattle Times reports, “Seattle’s median single-family-home price hit $777,000 in February, $20,000 more than the previous all-time high set just a month prior,” while on the Eastside, “the median cost of a house was $950,000, or $12,000 more than the peak price from two months ago.” According to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data, home prices in every Puget Sound county increased by at least 15%, with many setting record high values.
Looking to Seattle, median home price gains ranged from 3.5% in Southeast Seattle to nearly 35% in SODO/Beacon Hill.
Compared to just last year, “the typical house costs about $100,000 more in Seattle and an extra $118,000 on the Eastside,” increases that are fueling Seattle’s position within the nation as the hottest housing market for 16 months in a row. As was indicated in the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Francisco continue to report the highest gains in the index. The report outlines that, “In December, Seattle led the way with a 12.7 percent year-over-year price increase, followed by Las Vegas with an 11.1 percent increase, and San Francisco with a 9.2 percent increase.”
The index, which regionally is computing according to single-family home selling prices in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, had flattened out in the fall of 2017, diminishing by 0.28 percent in September and 0.07 percent in October. The rebound began in November; by December, Seattle’s home prices were advancing again by 0.57 percent that month – a rate that compounds to seven percent annually.
