The latest Case-Shiller home price index was released this week for the year ending in July. For the second consecutive month Las Vegas led the nation with a 13.7 percent home price increase from the year before. Seattle followed behind with a 12.1 percent increase, and San Francisco third, with a 10.8 percent increase. Nationally, prices grew just 6 percent in July, down from 6.2 percent in June.
The median house in King County is now $669,000, $492,000 in Snohomish County, and $352,000 in Pierce County—all down from record highs set earlier this year. Seattle is in the midst of the largest slowdown in three years as annual gains have gone down from 13.6 percent in May—the same time period where record highs were set.
Despite inventory remaining below historic norms, the number of homes on the market increased 66 percent over the last year in King County. Snohomish County also saw a 27 percent increase, and Pierce County with a 7 percent increase. This isn’t due to an increase in the number of homes coming onto the market; homes are now sitting unsold for a longer period of time.
According to Redfin, homes took four days longer to sell this August compared to 2017; and Seattle saw the largest decline in sales compared to last year, falling 18.5 percent. Seattle also experienced the second-highest increase in the number of homes for sale in the country, up 46.4 percent from the year prior.