Everything you should know about our current housing market.
Have all the changes in the real estate market been too overwhelming to keep up with? There’s a lot happening, so I can’t blame you! That’s why I’m here today, to make sense of it all for you. It can help you stay updated on our Pierce County market so you can make informed real estate decisions.
You can hear the full update by watching the video above, or you can skip to individual topics by using these timestamps:
0:00 — Introduction
0:30 — Median sales price
1:20 — Median percent of list price
1:54 — Days on market
2:04 — Pending sales and number of homes sold
4:00 — Determining what kind of market we’re in
4:40 — Inventory
5:35 — Interest rates and the Federal Reserve rates
6:00 — How to price a home and handle this market
6:45 — Wrapping up
The bottom line is that there are advantages in this market for both buyers and sellers. If you have any questions, I would love to be your real estate resource. Call or email me and my team anytime!
Here’s what’s happening in our market and how it affects you.
There’s a lot happening in the market, and it’s starting to get a little weird. That’s why I wanted to share some hard data with you today to show you what’s taking place. Let’s dive right into these numbers and what they mean for you as a buyer or a seller.
You can watch the full video above or skip to each section using the timestamps provided:
0:00 — Introducing today’s topic
0:32 — Home prices are at an all-time high
1:13 — The five-year graph for the sales-to-list-price ratio
2:02 — We are still seeing a fast market
2:39 — The pending sales, homes for sale, and number of homes sold
3:52 — We’ve been in an extreme seller’s market for a while
4:21 — We only have 18 days of inventory
4:56 — Interest rates have jumped, and that will affect the buying pool
6:27 — Wrapping up
If you have any questions or would like to develop a specific strategy for your situation, call or email my team and me. We’d love to hear from you.
Ours continues to be a hot seller’s market as we hit the middle of summer.
The Pierce County real estate market continues to go crazy this summer. The market conditions that we’re seeing here make it the perfect time for those who were potentially thinking about selling their house to take the leap. You can take advantage of this market and get top dollar for your property.
Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:
0:23 — Five-year price history
2:05 — Days on market
2:51 — Active listings
4:00 — Inventory
5:18 — Why it’s a good time to sell
5:42 — Wrapping up
If you have any questions about real estate matters or are looking to buy or sell a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to the opportunity to help you reach your goals.
Here are the latest numbers and information about our Pierce County market.
Today I’m sharing a Pierce County real estate market update for May 2021. This market is on
fire, and I continue to say that every month because I’m still blown away by what we’re seeing.
At 0:35 in the video above, you can see a graph that shows our five-year pricing trends. We just
hit an all-time record: The median home price has reached $500,000. We’ve seen a 20% increase in
home values in the last year, while historically, values increase around 5% per year.
In last month’s market update, I said we were consistently seeing homes spending an average of six
days on market and that I didn’t see how it could get any lower than that. However, we’ve now dropped
to an average of five days on the market, so homes are moving extremely quickly.
"Our market is in a feeding frenzy; people are buying more homes than ever."
At 1:55 in the video, you can see a chart that illustrates pending sales in the last five years. Pending
sales are those that have gone under contract but haven’t closed yet. The number of pending sales
has risen 41.61% year over year.
At 2:30, you can see a graph showing active listings versus the number of sales in the last five years.
We currently have a very low number of homes available for sale; that number has declined 45%
compared to this same time last year. At the same time, the number of homes selling is much higher
than the number of homes for sale. The number of homes sold has climbed 46% over the last year.
That means our market is in a feeding frenzy; people are buying more homes than ever.
A seller’s market is when there is fewer than six months’ worth of homes on the market and home
values are trending upward. When we have six to seven months’ worth of homes, we’re in a neutral
market, and home prices will only appreciate with inflation. If we have seven months or more of homes
on the market, it’s a buyer’s market, and home prices will depreciate. Knowing all this, we’re in more of
a seller’s market than we’ve ever been before.
We have only half a month's worth of homes for sale right now. If no more homes were to come
onto the market, we’d sell out in just 15 days. The number of homes for sale has just been decreasing
and decreasing. This is the hottest market I’ve ever seen, by a long shot.
If you’re considering selling, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to be a resource and educate
you about timing, what you need to know, preparation, and more. Feel free to contact me via phone or
email anytime if you have questions about the market or real estate in general. I’d love to speak with
Here’s how things have changed in Pierce County real estate.
The latest numbers for the Pierce County real estate market are in, and to put it simply, the metrics
are astonishing.
We’re in the hottest market I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in real estate for about 17 years.The median sales price in March was $480,000, which was a 14.6% increase from the year
before. It’s unbelievable. Another unbelievable metric is that homes are spending, on average, only
six days on the market before selling. That’s about as low as you can realistically get. If someone
tried to sell quicker than that, they wouldn’t be exposing their listing to enough people.
When selling, a little time is necessary.
"It’s a total feeding frenzy right now, and you can get in on
the action if you’ve been thinking of listing."
The number of pending listings was 1,636 in March, which is a 33% year-over-year increase.
These are homes that haven’t officially sold yet, but the buyer and seller have created a contract;
the home will close if no issues derail the transaction.
Another crazy metric is our sales numbers. The number of homes for sale is down 64% compared
to a year ago, but the number of homes sold is up 8%. It’s a total feeding frenzy right now, and you
can get in on the action if you’ve been thinking of listing. It’s never been a better time to sell. You’ll
have lots of opportunities to negotiate exactly what you want, and you can easily make more than
your home is worth.
Inventory is completely wiped out. To put it in perspective, we’re in a normal market when we have
around six months’ worth of inventory. Anything above that is a buyer’s market, and anything below
is a seller’s market. We’re at 0.3 months—in other words, there are only nine days’ worth of
home inventory in our area. It means that if no more homes were to come onto the market, all
homes would be gone within nine days.
Needless to say, it’s a blistering-hot seller’s market and a perfect time to list your home. If you’re
ready to jump into the market or you have any questions related to real estate, feel free to reach out
The latest numbers point to an extreme seller’s market in Pierce County.
Now that we’re into February 2021, it’s time to look back on the numbers from January and see what they say about our Pierce County market. If you’re a seller, you’ll be quite pleased. The median sale price in Pierce County held steady at $440K compared to the month before and was WAY higher compared to the year before. The situation is tougher for buyers, but the good news there is that interest rates are still historically low. To find out more, watch my latest video.
Feel free to watch the video above in its entirety to get the full scoop on our market, or use these timestamps to skip ahead to various sections at your leisure:
0:22—The year-over-year median sale price increase
1:33—The median days on market
1:54—The year-over-year pending listings increase
2:21—Active listings versus number of sales
3:33—The impact of monthly housing inventory on home prices
4:29—The months of inventory has dwindled dramatically
5:27—Why sellers are holding all the cards
6:31—Wrapping things up
As always, if you have questions about our Pierce County market or any real estate needs I can assist you with, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Here’s why right now might be the hottest our market is for sellers all year.
Today we have a jam-packed market update on all the latest goings-on in Pierce County, Washington.
In December, the median sale price rose to $440,000. That’s a 5% increase year over year. This is great news for homeowners everywhere.
As for our days on market, the average is down to just six days. It’s a very fast-paced market, and buyers don’t have the luxury of time like they had in the past. When the right home comes on the market, buyers need to be ready to make an offer with a pre-approval in hand. That’s how fast homes are selling.
Pending sales are up an incredible 21% year over year. These are homes that have had offers accepted on them, but haven’t officially closed yet. The number of pending sales in December (942) represents the largest number of pending sales over the last five years, even with our huge inventory shortage. That’s pretty phenomenal.
"Don’t wait for spring or summer this year."
At 2:15, you can see how unique of a situation our current inventory shortage is compared to the last five years of supply and demand. If you’re a home seller, it might not be the best idea to wait until spring or summer. As you can see right now, sales are as high as they are in the spring and summer, with much lower supply than normal (54% lower, in fact).
Our available months of inventory right now is 0.3, which is the equivalent of just nine days! That means it would just take us nine days to sell all the homes in Pierce County if no new properties came on the market. That’s all good news for sellers. I’ve never seen this few homes for sale with this much demand.
Think selling your house in the winter months is a bad idea? Think again! The buyer demand right now is insane. A home we marketed over the holidays had 60 SHOWINGS and 17 OFFERS within just a matter of days and we received offers in EXCESS of $100K over asking price! 🤯
There’s no saying how long these conditions will last. If you have any questions for me about the market or how you can take advantage of it, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Here’s why we may be in the best seller’s market we’ve ever seen.
For your latest Pierce County real estate market update, I have all the key stats from last October to share with you.
Our median sale price is $432,500, which is a 15% increase compared to last year. Historically, homes in our area experience a yearly appreciation of 5%. The median days on market, or how long it takes for a home to go under contract after it hits the market, is just six days. The number of pending listings, or homes that have gone under contract, stood at 1,465 as October ended—a 20% year-over-year jump.
At 1:46 in the video, you can see a wide disparity between the number of sales (about 1,500) and active listings (about 900). How is this possible? We record these numbers at the end of the month, and since homes are only averaging six days on the market before going under contract, most of them don’t last long enough to be recorded as active listings.
| If you’re thinking of selling, this is a prime time to do so.
The absorption rate, meanwhile, is down to just 0.6 months of inventory. This means if no new homes came on the market, it would take just two weeks for our Pierce County marketplace to be completely sold out of homes. This is by far the lowest level of inventory I’ve seen in my 16 years in the real estate business. Overall, the trend we’re seeing is a very strong seller’s market. If you’re thinking of selling, this is a prime time to do so. Being a buyer, on the other hand, is not for the faint of heart right now. However, if you’re willing to dip your toe in the water, it’s well worth it once you secure a property because interest rates are in the 2% range for 30-year loans. From an affordability standpoint, if you can lock in that low of a rate for 30 years, you’ll save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. A rise in interest rates would be the only thing that could cause home values to decline at this point. If you have questions about our Pierce County market or are thinking of buying or selling soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you, and I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season.
Last month we officially entered fall, but does that mean our market has started to cool off? According to September’s market stats, absolutely not!
The median sale price for our market is $435,000 as of September 2020. That represents a 14.5% year-over-year increase in home values, which is pretty remarkable. We’re also seeing that homes are selling faster this fall, as the average days on market dipped down to just seven days from last September’s average of 11.
Let’s take a look at the list-to-sale price ratio, which tells us what homes are actually selling for versus what they’re being listed at. The median list-to-sale price ratio for September was 102.3%, meaning that sellers were receiving 2.3% above their asking prices. That figure is also an improvement from last year at this time when sellers were seeing 100.4% of their listing prices.
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It’s clear demand is dominating our market.
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Inventory in our market is down significantly compared to where it was last September—a whopping 55.2% to be exact. So, based on the current trends of how quickly homes have been selling, how long would it take to completely sell out all of our existing inventory if no new homes were to come on the market? The answer is an important statistic that we often refer to as ‘months’ supply.’ Right now, our Pierce County real estate market has 0.7 month's worth of supply—that’s the lowest I’ve seen in my 16-year real estate career by a longshot.
Simply put, the supply in our housing market is scarce. Granted, we did see a 16.7% year-over-year increase in new listings coming onto the market, but these homes are just selling so dang fast! The number of pending sales (i.e., homes that went off the market after accepting an offer) was up 26.5% from last year. Furthermore, the number of closed sales was up 10.5% year over year, so it’s clear that demand is dominating our market.
If you have more questions about the status of our real estate market or are interested in buying or selling soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or anyone else on our team via phone or email. We’re here to be of service to you!
For part one of my latest Pierce County market report, you’ll see the latest statistics from Gig Harbor, North Tacoma, Central Tacoma, University Place and Fircrest, and Browns Point.
Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.
Here is the first part of my area-by-area Pierce County August market report, with all the most important statistics you need to know. I’ve attached timestamps of the video above so you can jump ahead to your specific community:
0:48 (Gig Harbor): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped compared to the previous month to 43.4%. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.7% to $530,000, inventory dropped 24%, and sales decreased 5.3%.
1:46 (North Tacoma): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped from 124% to 89% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.9%, inventory dropped 19%, and sales decreased 20%.
2:45 (Central Tacoma): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped from 326% to 79.5% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price decreased 20.3%, inventory rose 2.6%, and sales decreased 34%.
3:31 (University Place and Fircrest): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold increased from 83.6% to 90% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.3%, inventory dropped almost 26%, and sales decreased 1.4%.
4:27 (Browns Point): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped from 150% to 71.4% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 8%, inventory dropped 35.5%, and sales increased 9.4%.
If your area wasn’t listed, be sure to check out part two of this market update.
If you have any questions about your specific market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.
What's going on in our market right now? A good way to get a feel is by comparing the stats from the first quarter of 2017 to those from 2016. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.
The Pierce County market is still doing great right now, and a good way to show it is by comparing some stats from the first quarter of this year to the first quarter of 2016.
Last year in the first quarter, 2,848 homes sold for an average price of $255,000 in an average of 33 days. The average house sold had three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and about 1,900 square feet. Sales ranged from $35,000 to $1.75 million.
It's a great time to sell a house but a challenging time to buy one.
In the first quarter of 2017, 3,205 homes sold for an average price of $284,000 in an average of 23 days. That's actually a 12% increase in sales, which is pretty amazing considering the low inventory. Prices ranged from $27,000 to $1.54 million.
One of the best figures we can use to project the future is absorption rate, which is really just a fancy way of saying supply and demand. Over the last three months, about 1,400 homes have sold per month, and as of April, there are 1,387 homes currently for sale. That's only 1.29 months worth of supply at the current rate homes are selling, making it an extreme seller's market.
That means that if no new homes came on the market starting now, it would only take 1.29 months for all the available homes in Pierce County to sell. It's a great time to sell a house but a challenging time to buy one. However, interest rates are still low enough for it to be a great time to buy a home for a great cost.
If you have any questions about our market or you're thinking of buying or selling a home, give us a call or send us an email. We're here to help.
What’s happening in the Pierce County real estate market? To give you a comprehensive look, I’ll break it down by price range.
First, let’s jump into the zero to $300,000 bracket. Here, the average days on market is 13 days, meaning it’s taking an average of 13 days for an offer to be exchanged between buyer and seller. The list-to-sales price ratio is 99.8%, meaning if we ask $300,000 for the house, it would sell at 99.8% of that asking price. The supply of inventory is sitting at just one month, which qualifies this price range as a seller’s market.
To give you some context, a seller’s market represents anywhere from zero to five months’ worth of inventory. If we have six months’ worth of inventory, it’s considered more of a balanced market. If there is a supply of seven months or more, it’s considered a buyer’s market.
Data can vary based on your specific location.
Moving up to the $300,000 to $500,000 price bracket, the average days on market increased to 17 days. The list-to-sales price ratio dropped slightly to 99.6%. The level of inventory has increased to 1.4 months. Just as in the previous price range, this bracket is very much a seller’s market.
If we look at the $500,000 to $700,000 price bracket, the average days on market increased significantly to 43 days. The list-to-sales price ratio dropped again to 99.2%. The level of inventory increased again to 2.9 months. As you can see, the supply has gone up, but we’re still in a seller’s market.
In the $750,000 and above price bracket, or the high-end luxury market, the average days on market increased further to 61 days. The list-to-sales price ratio dropped again to 97.8%. The level of inventory jumped up to 6.5 months. As evidenced by the numbers, this range is far more balanced than the lower price ranges.
Obviously, this data can change based on your specific location within Pierce County, so if you’re curious what the market looks like around your particular area, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to serve, and we look forward to helping you in any way we can!
I’ve been getting asked by a lot of people lately if we are currently in a real estate bubble that is about to pop. I’d like to address that topic today and give you some insight on where we are today versus where we were in 2007 when the last bubble burst.
The main reason for the last bubble was that anyone with a pulse could qualify for a mortgage. Lending guidelines are much stricter now, and there are a lot more rules and regulations that make it more difficult to get a mortgage.
Another thing to like right now is our low interest rates. They are so low that some people are concerned that when they inevitably go up, it will severely affect affordability for buyers. However, that hasn’t happened historically.
We have a strong market right now.
In May 1983, interest rates rose from 12.63% to 14.67% in one year. Even though that’s a significant increase, it caused home values to increase as well. We saw similar situations in 1987, 1994, and 2000. Each time, home values increased along with rates and it didn’t cause a bubble. Supply and demand are going to be a big part of this. Ultimately, we are in a strong seller’s market right now with only 1.8 months of inventory.
We definitely have a strong market right now. Nobody has a crystal ball, but I can say for certain we are in a much better situation than we were in 2007. We will start to see a correction soon, but I highly doubt we will see a bubble.
If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.
