Well, the PNW is doing its best to confuse everyone about what season it is. We're nearly at the official start of Fall, but are still seeing temps in the high 70s and low 80s. Then again, earlier this week, Crystal Mountain (one of the local ski resorts) saw over 6 inches of snow and had to dig out the "Summer event" areas. While I'm no snow bunny, snow falling early and often in the mountains is a good thing for our water needs next summer.

The biggest takeaway in the NWMLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Service) report this month is: "At the August sales pace, the NWMLS service area had 4.21 months of inventory, up from 3.19 months in August 2025. Market conditions continued to vary significantly by county, property type, and price range." That puts the market -- as a whole -- in a balanced position. However, I continue to see areas where buyers are still competing (though, that number is dwindling) and other areas where buyers definitely have the upper hand. An interesting fact, Thurston and Snohomish counties had some of the lowest months of inventory (3.58 and 3.64, respectively), yet they also saw some of the highest inventory increases -- +33.2% and +39.3%, respectively.

As has been the case for some time, mortgage rates continue to climb. Again, from this month's report: "Higher rates were reflected in significant declines in numbers of home sales (down about 7.6% year over year) and median home prices (down 2.3%). Meanwhile, listings continued to show a large year-over-year increase (up by 22%)." This means that having all or mostly cash to purchase is a strong position for any buyer. Check out my site to see how the current yearly average 30-year mortgage rate compares to previous years.

As always, buyers are still buying and sellers are still selling. I'm available to talk about your plans and/or anything I've mentioned above.

Until next month...