Hawkins-Poe Monthly Newsletter June / Real Estate Market Report May 2022 Data

A slight bump in inventory is a good thing, but won’t be enough to satisfy the demand. Here’s what local real estate expert, Frank Hawkins of Hawkins-Poe Real Estate, Fircrest WA, sees regarding the June market for potential buyers and sellers.

When asked about shifting market conditions, Frank Hawkins, President of Hawkins-Poe said, “The increase in inventory is GOOD NEWS FOR THE HOUSING MARKET, but I don’t think there will be enough new inventory to do much more than slow down the price increases. There is still not enough inventory to satisfy demand. Home sellers will need to temper their pricing expectations but they are far from losing money. Their gains are still there from previous years of appreciation.”

“Home buyers will benefit from the increases in inventory because market time will increase, there will be fewer multiple offers and sellers will be more respectful of requests for inspections, appraisals and the protections of financing contingencies. This will all bring BETTER BALANCE to the home buying and selling experience,” stated Hawkins.

NWMLS members added 13,075 new listings to inventory during May, up 9.7% from a year earlier and the highest monthly number since June 2021. At the end of May, buyers could choose from 8,798 active listings system-wide, up a whopping 59% from a year ago when there were only 5,533 properties in the database. That is the largest selection since September 2020 when there were 9,099 single family homes and condominiums offered for sale across the 26 counties served by Northwest MLS.

Pierce and Kitsap Counties both increased their number of properties available from a year ago, but by a smaller percentage of increase. Pierce inventory increased by 65% from 737 listings in May 2021 to 1,214 in May of this year. Kitsap had a smaller percentage of increase from 235 active properties in 2021 to 351 in May of 2022, a 39% increase.

Even with the healthy uptick in inventory, there is still less than one month of supply area-wide (0.97 months). Twenty of the 26 counties in the report are showing more than a month of supply, with the tightest inventory (0.85 months or less) in the four-county Puget Sound region of Pierce, Kitsap, Snohomish and King counties. Both pending sales (mutually accepted offers) and closed sales during May were down from a year ago, but up from the previous month.

Members reported 10,563 pending sales of homes and condos last month, up from April’s figure of 9,760, but down from the year-ago total of 11,969. May 2022 closed sales activity dipped slightly from a year ago (down about 3%) but rose 9% from April. Buyers can expect to pay more for homes and condos, although the increases may be moderating.

In conclusion, Hawkins wrapped up with, “More stable market pricing conditions, with increases in the selection, will aid home buyers in absorbing the increasing interest rates - which should also be stabilizing. After all, interest rates in the (5%) range are still extremely low historically.”