Market Update — January 2026
We firmly believe timely and relevant data is key to making good decisions. To this end, we are committed to providing our community and clients with actionable data and insights about the local real estate market.
Local real estate market
With the data from December 2026 in, here’s an overview of the key aspects of the local real estate market. The real estate data below is collected from Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS).
Median price: The chart below shows the latest median sales prices of homes over the past 5 years in the Greater Seattle area over the past five years:
Homes sold: 5,010 homes were sold in December 2025 increasing 4.1% YOY. The median price of $612.250 which represents a decrease of 1.8% YOY. This total sale volume translates to a dollar value of about $3.8B.
New construction: 749 new construction homes were sold in December 2025. The median sale price of new construction homes was $725,000.
Months of inventory: Given the current quantity of supply, it’ll take 2.34 months for every listed home to sell. To put this number in perspective, note that the months of inventory for a balanced market is considered to be 4 to 6 months. The counties with the lowest months of inventory in December 2025 were Snohomish (1.61), Kitsap (1.68), King (2.00), Pierce (2.09), and Thurston (2.35). This data point indicates the persistent shortage of supply relative to demand in the area.
New listings: 3,202 new listings were added to the NWMLS database in December 2025 representing a YOY increase of 1.1%.
Mortgage rates: The Freddie Mac rate shows no significant monthly change.
Primary Mortgage Market Survey — Average 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates over the past 5 years (Source: Freddie Mac)
Broader U.S. economy
Unemployment Claims Dip on Seasonal and Timing Effects: Initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 in the latest week, with 199,000 people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. Continuing claims – which measure those still receiving benefits – also declined, dropping by 47,000 to 1.866 million.
Pending Home Sales Jump in November: Pending Home Sales rose 3.3% from October to November, beating expectations and reaching their strongest level in nearly three years, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Contract signings on existing homes were also up 2.6% compared to a year earlier.
