Washington

A deadly pandemic seemingly did little to slow down Western Washington's real estate markets in March, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Even as concern over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus mounts, the most recent data on area home sales from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows the market for Seattle-area residential realty remains hot.

The Spokane County, Wash., median home price continued to rise, but sales held steady in February, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors.

Growth in Puget Sound home prices accelerated as 2019 drew to a close, topping national averages for the first time all year, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

While Seattle was the nation's fastest-rising housing market between 2016 and 2018, Tacoma now holds that dubious honor, according to Redfin.

Last May, Redfin elevated Tacoma, Wash., on the nation's real estate map with a report saying the city was the nation's hottest market.

Thurston County, Wash., home sellers are in total control.

Falling interest rates, strong job growth and declining inventories could be setting the conditions for a spring reprise of the painfully hot housing market of 2017, Seattle area real estate agents say.

The Spokane, Wash., real estate market remains extremely tight and active, with relatively few houses available, high demand and rising home prices mirroring national trends.

If you're in the market for a home in Walla Walla, Wash., options may feel a little slim lately.

For decades, Seattle has been primarily a city of homeowners, but those days may be coming to an end. It's one of the many ways that the city's current population boom has been transformative.

Pending new home sales increased both on a month-to-month and annual basis, benefitting from the current low mortgage rate environment, although they are still constrained by inventory issues, a Meyers Research report said.

Last month, brokers anticipated local residential markets swinging, if ever so slightly, to give buyers more bargaining power.

The real action in home prices lately isn't in King County, Wash., where price growth has stabilized.

Spokane County, Wash., home sales spiked in October, marking the second month in a row for year-over-year sales increases since 2018.

How's this for a flashback to 2017? Seattle home prices rose faster in October than they have for a year.

The FDIC ordered the Seattle bank to pay a nearly $1.4 million fine tied to improper agreements with real estate brokers and homebuilders.

Home sales registered their first year-over-year increase in September for the first time since 2018, as sales picked up toward the end of the prime buying season.

Summer sales of single-family homes in Thurston County, Wash., ended with a bang in August as sales nearly matched last year's red-hot results and the median price climbed almost 10% over August 2018.

Soaring home prices are pushing homebuyers out of walkable neighborhoods into those that are more car-dependent, Redfin said.