The word of the day from the NWMLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Service) report this month is "inventory," meaning the number of properties on the market (currently, 24,965). The last time we had more inventory was September 2014! For a very interesting comparison, in September 2021, the inventory was 7,757!!! Obviously, COVID related, but it shows where we've come from in 5 years.

If we've ever talked about single family homes versus condos (in a nutshell -- condos are the first to go down and the last to go up), this month's report really highlights that. Condo closings fell 19% this month, while single family home closings fell 7%. Likewise, the price sellers received for those closed condos fell nearly 5%, while single family home sellers saw a 1% drop in price. As you might expect, all of the above has increased the months of inventory we have. We are now firmly in a balanced market at nearly 4.5 months of inventory (an increase of over 1 month of inventory from August). The end result is buyers have more time to compare homes and more room to negotiate.

We've all heard about the rising interest rate. As you'll see on my site, the yearly average of the 30-year mortgage rate through September for 2026 was about 6.5% (the average rate for the month of September was 6.86%). Check back next month when I update my site with October's numbers. I expect the yearly average to top 7% and October's rate to be solidly above 7%.

But, as I always say, 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...