Inventory Up as Key Markets Cool

Housing inventory is up significantly in Seattle and San Jose, Calif., as price increases in those areas begin to slow.

According to Redfin, inventory in the San Jose metro area was up 123.2 percent year over year in November, while Seattle saw a 96.5 percent increase over the same period. Meanwhile, national inventory was up 4.9 percent year over year, the highest level of inventory growth since June 2015.

While home prices in those areas are still increasing, they are increasing at much slower rates than they have been in the past few years. San Jose saw a year-over-year gain of 1.2 percent—the smallest price increase for the last six years. In Seattle the median sale price in November was $548,000, up 4.4 percent annually, smallest increase since February 2015.

Another sign that the Seattle market may finally be cooling slightly is a falling rate of bidding wars. As of November, only about one of every four Redfin offers in the Seattle metro area faced competition, one of the lowest rates among Redfin’s largest markets. Back in the spring, roughly three-quarters of Redfin offers in Seattle were part of bidding wars. About two out of every five Redfin offers in the San Jose metro faced competition last month.

Read more