Happy New Year! I hope you had a great 2024.
Lianna and I just wrapped up a very busy and enjoyable holiday season. We spent time in the snow with her family up north and had many fun moments with friends and family in the area.
As we turn the corner to 2025, we’re looking forward to a little more daylight in the afternoons, and more importantly, seeing what our real estate market will look like under the new administration.
A quick recap on last year – despite the Federal Reserve’s three rate cuts in 2024, mortgage rates rose to 6.91% as of early January 2025—the highest since July 2024. However, the market is showing resilience, with active listings up 25% and closed sales increasing nearly 20% year-over-year.
Experts suggest these figures indicate buyers and sellers are adjusting to higher borrowing costs.
Key 2024 Highlights in Washington
➡️ Homes for sale grew 25%.
➡️ Transactions were up 19.8% from December 2023.➡️ King County Medium Price: $800,000
Seattle $825,000 (+ 7.8%)
Bellevue $1,304,444 (- 14.5%)
Kirkland $1,450,000 (+ 7.4%)
Redmond $1,342,495 (+25.6%)
➡️ Snohomish County Medium Price: $744,995
Edmonds $965,000 (+20.6%)
Mukilteo $952,000 (+16.1%)
Everett $655,000 (+7.4%)
What to Expect in 2025I recently attended the Real Estate Economic Summit in Seattle. These were the top expectations for the new year:
- The Seattle condo market is undervalued and should grow substantially. Seattle office vacancy is 30%, but demand is increasing. Many new long-term deals are being inked, including Apple’s new lease on Lake Union. Plus, as companies like Amazon return to in-office work, this will only increase the demand in the Seattle area.
- Interest rates are expected to settle closer to 6% by the end of 2025. One point of caution, if the new administration does go forward with tariffs, and runs up the deficit (as before), interest rates may continue to stay high.
- We should see good, but not great, job growth in this region.
- The real estate market will see increased activity as buyers adapt to the “new normal” in interest rates and continued migration from California will boost demand.
In closing, if you have any questions about the real estate landscape, anything brought up in this email, or thinking of making a move this year, I’d love to be a resource for you.
Thanks for reading! I hope you and your family have a happy and healthy 2025.
All the best!
~ Nick
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