WASHINGTON, USA — As home sales are returning to pre-pandemic levels across the United States, the average cost of a home in western Washington is still much higher than the national average.
In the United States, the average is about $515,000, but in King County, it's about $840,000. According to the Census Bureau, home sales across the country are up around 6% over this year.
Jon Bye, the team lead of Jon Bye and Associates Real Estates, said buyers are being very specific right now because the housing market inventory is low and interest rates are high. During a tour of a Kennydale home in Renton, he notes that it has been on the market for more than a month. Currently, this is about average for the market and a stark contrast from the buying frenzy characteristic of pre-pandemic.
Even if people are looking to buy a new house, there are fewer places to go because fewer people are moving out of their homes. After examining his real estate company's last 86 closings, the most popular reason people sold their houses was to recoup money in investment deals. The next most common reason was a job relocation out of the area. Then, a death was the third most common reason homes were being listed on the market.
The trend emerges that not as many homeowners are selling their homes because of their own volition, "[it's] human nature, we go in packs. If all my friends and family are doing it … well, I guess I've got to do it. Right now, no one is doing anything," Bye said.