Pending home sales plunge in Seattle area amid tech industry shifts

Pending home sales plunge in Seattle area amid tech industry shifts

by Claire Weber,KOMONewsReporter

SEATTLE — As home sales decline across the United States, pending home sales significantly dropped in the Seattle metro area last month, according to a new Redfin report.

The locally-based real estate brokerage found pending home sales, measured before a deal officially closes, fell faster in Seattle than any other region at 15.6%. The next highest decline, 14.3%, was in Houston, according to the report.

These sales are dropping while Seattle area buyers are facing considerably high home prices. The median home-sale price in the metro area is $809,479, Redfin stated, which is roughly double the national average.

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"I bought my place, I remember thinking, 'Wow, it's so expensive' in '98, and now it's, you know, seven times that amount," said Seattle homeowner, Matt Fioretti. "It's been drastic."

The tech industry is also partly to blame for the drop in home sales, said local Redfin agent Chase Costello.

Costello, a principal agent, sells homes in Seattle, Bellevue, Mercer Island, and other surrounding neighborhoods. As less tech workers move to Seattle or jump between major tech companies, they are less likely to make an offer or buy right now, he explained.

"At the tail end of 2019, you put a house on the market, and you would have 15 offers," Costello continued, "The pendulum has certainly swung."

He also points to the uncertain future of Artificial Intelligence (AI), coupled with recent, local layoffs from several tech giants as further driving factors for Seattle homes sitting on the market longer than in years past.

"They [tech workers] don't necessarily want to dip their toes in and find out in six months that they potentially are going to get laid off," Costello explained.

Still, Costello says the housing market is not crashing, rather adjusting. He recommends locals continue to buy-in now and refinance interest rates, which are sitting upwards of 6%, later.

While home sales are declining in Seattle, Redfin found sales are trending upwards in San Francisco by 8.5%. Though many people often compare Seattle and San Francisco, Costello said San Jose in the Bay Area is a more comparable tech market to the Emerald City and currently has a similarly trending housing market.