Seattle Condo Update November 2023
Despite cyclically being one of the slowest months for real estate activity, November turned out to be a pretty good month for Seattle’s condo market. The market tightened ever so slightly as sales improved and selling prices soared.
The Seattle citywide median sales price for condominiums in November spiked 21.3% to $582,750 compared to the same period last year, and improved 1.6% over the prior month. This sets a new record high for Seattle.
By NWMLS neighborhood market areas, Queen Anne / Magnolia (+48.9%), Capitol Hill / Central (+43.8%) and Northwest Seattle (+43.0%) led the city. However, not all areas trended positive. West Seattle (-21.6%) and Northeast Seattle (-18.2%) exhibited year-over-year decreases in their respective median sale prices. You can view the full neighborhood area results at the end of the post.
But, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, this just compares the results from one month (November 2023) to another month (November 2022). It does not mean that condo values appreciated 21%. That said, we historically see selling prices dip during the fall season, so this is a reverse of what we’d expect.
Second, condo statistics and figures are skewed this year. We’re not necessarily comparing apples to apples. In the past some of the large townhome developments had been structured as condos. But, in 2023, virtually every new townhome development, regardless of size have been structured as condos.
Additionally, many single family houses where a detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU) or an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) has been added have been reclassified as condominiums. As a result, a fair number of standalone housing are now included in our condo statistics. And, townhomes and houses have higher values than the typical condo unit.
A year and a half ago the NWMLS condo stats was predominately comprised of the typical condo flat unit in a condo building or sprawling complex. Now, it includes a plethora of townhomes and an increasing number of individual dwelling structures. In November, 26% of the closed condo sales were townhomes, single homes or DADUs.
In respect to condo listings, the declining number of active listings for sale did meet expectations. With the seasonal nature of the Pacific Northwest real estate market, the number of listings historically drops at year end.
There were 549 units listed for sale at the end of November, which was an increase of 5%, so contrary to what I just wrote. However, there were 13.1% fewer listings than we had in October. And, there were 9.1% fewer new listings added during the month compared to last year. That is, there were fewer new sellers listing homes for sale in November 2023 than in November 2022.
Even though listings trending down overall, due to relatively solid sales activity, the Seattle condo inventory supply rate dipped slightly to 3.4-months of supply. This keeps Seattle on the cusp between a seller’s market and a balanced market.
The inventory supply rate is a metric that characterizes the housing market environment. A supply rate under 4-months is considered a seller’s market. Between 4-7 months is a balanced or normal market, while a rate over 7 months would be a buyer’s market.
There were 162 pending sales transactions (listings under contract in escrow) in November. That reflected a year-over-year increase of 3.9% and a one-month dip of 8.5%. The month-to-month dip was expected given the slower fall months. The year-over-year bump, however, indicated a more active market this year compared to 2022.
Pending transactions will trend down until the start of the new year.
Similar to pendings, the 134 closed sales also reflected a year-over-year increase of 4.7% and a one-month decline of 28%. Closings follow pendings by around 30-days so that tracks with the drop in pendings between September and October.
Overall, the November numbers reflected a pretty solid month for Seattle’s condo market. Buoyed by the classification of townhome and in-fill developments as condominiums, the median sales price for Seattle condos skyrocketed to an all-time record high.
Yet, even with the influx of different dwelling types as condominiums, the number of properties for sale didn’t change much and kept with our seasonal downward trend. Though, the number of unit sales improved compared to last November.
As we round out the year, I expect more of the same – fewer listing and steady sales activity.
Seattle Condo Market Statistics November 2023
Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Some figures were independently compiled by Seattle Condos And Lofts and were not published by the NWMLS.
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