Market Update — May 2025
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 April 2025 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 three years in the Greater Seattle area over the past three years:
Homes sold: 5,887 homes were sold in April 2025. The median price of $650,000 which represents a 0.2% decrease YOY. This total sale volume translates to a dollar value of about $5.2B.
New construction: 736 new construction homes were sold in April 2025. The median sale price of new construction homes was $749,970.
Months of inventory: Given the current quantity of supply, it’ll take 2.46 months for every listed home to sell. To put this number in context, 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 April 2025 were Snohomish (1.58), Kitsap (1.82), Pierce (1.93), Thurston (1.98), and King (2.23). This data point indicates the persistent shortage of supply relative to demand in the area.
New listings: 10,858 new listings were added to the NWMLS database in April 2025 representing a increase of 12.7% compared to April 2024.
Mortgage rates: This month the Freddie Mac rate shows no major month-over-month change.
Primary Mortgage Market Survey — Average 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates over the past 12 months (Source: Freddie Mac)
Broader U.S. economy
Fed Holds Steady on Rates, Takes “Wait and See” Approach: The Federal Reserve unanimously decided to maintain its benchmark Federal Funds Rate at
4.25% to 4.5%, continuing the pause established in January. This widely expected move comes as the Fed acknowledges increased risks to both inflation and unemployment.
Remember: The Fed Funds Rate affects the overnight lending rate between banks, influencing broader interest rates throughout the economy, though not directly setting mortgage or long-term rates.
Homeownership Remains a Solid Investment Option: Home prices nationwide rose steadily in March, with Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) reporting
a 0.6% monthly increase and 2.5% annual growth. ICE data similarly showed 2.4% year-over-year gains.
