Greater Seattle Real Estate – 2024 Review
Northwest MLS Real Estate Report
Are Seattle home prices dropping? The trends of Seattle follow closely what happens across the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The home and condo market remains strong while inventory crept up slightly last year. There were 67,788 sales of homes and condos in 2024 for over $54 billion dollars. On the other hand, the total sales in 2023 was 64,208 for just under $48 billion. Thus, the number of sales were up 5.58% while median price rose 6.67% ($640,000 vs. $600,000). This was while inventory rose slightly in 2024. The average inventory supply was 2.11 months in 2024. Meaning if no more homes were listed, the inventory would sell out in 2.11 months. In 2023, the average was 1.79 months. Nevertheless, anything under 4 months’ supply is considered a seller’s market, so despite the rise in inventory, the market performed as would be expected with prices continuing to increase.
Seattle Real Estate Market
Following is a more detail look at homes, condos, luxury real estate, and waterfront homes in Seattle for the past month.
Greater Seattle Homes
Across the NWMLS, residential sales (excluding condos) were 87% of the total sales in 2024. Thus, there 58,751 homes sold in 2024. The median price was $660,000 in 2024 which was up 5.6% from 2023 ($625,000). In addition, homes sold for 100.2% of the list price, meaning on average sellers got just over their asking price when selling their Greater Seattle Homes in 2024. King County prices, which include Seattle homes as well as Bellevue, Mercer Island and beyond, make up 30%+ of the home sales. The King County saw sales of 17,944 homes for median price of $950,000. In contrast, in 2023 there were 16,588 sales for a median price of $875,700. Hence in 2024, there were 8.17% more home sales for 8.48% price hike.
Condo Market in Greater Seattle
Across the NWMLS, condos made up 13% of the remaining sales. The number of condo sales were up 7.25% in 2024. Sales increased from 8,426 to 9,037. In addition, median price increased 7.52% ($499,950 vs $465,000).
King County condo sales were 59% of the total NWMLS condo market. Certainly well above the next biggest county (Snohomish being 18.55% of condo sales). King County also had the highest median sales price of $549,950, up from 8.05% from 2023.
With Ewing and Clark’s headquarters located just north of Pike Place market, we are uniquely equipped to assist with Downtown/Belltown condos.
Note: Seattle new zoning rules allowed single family lots to condo-ized, so those condos are becoming more popular. These condos tend to be townhome style homes that are not always what someone pictures when thinking of Seattle condos. Thus, prices may be skewed by this new category of condos since the starting price of these condos tend to be higher than many traditional condos.
Greater Seattle Luxury Real Estate Market
The luxury real estate market was healthy in 2024. In 2023, homes that sold for $1 million or more was 18.3% of the market across the NWMLS. In 2024, it increased to 22.9%. Furthermore, there was a 29.2% increase in the number of luxury homes sales of over $2.5 million.
The Eastside generally dominates the local luxury real estate market. In 2024, the top 14 sales were located between Mercer Island and Kirkland. The most expensive listed sale in 2024 being 10,030 sq ft Mercer Island waterfront home on over an acre of land. That luxury home sold for $28.5 million. The Bellevue area including Clyde Hill, Medina, Evergreen Point, Hunts Point, and Yarrow Point had a ton of huge sales including the most expensive sale in 2024. A 13,000+ sq ft Medina home on Evergreen Point Road (waterfront property) sold off-market (not listed) for $38.9 million.
The overall Seattle luxury real estate market had its highest sale in Leschi. The Seattle waterfront home sold for $10.45 million which placed it in 15th place for highest sale in 2024.
While luxury homes tend to have many similar features (ex. generally larger homes), but probably the single most common factor is waterfront. Of the 15 most expensive homes, 13 were waterfront homes (arguably 14 because one of the homes had shared private access). In addition, not only waterfront, but homes on Lake Washington.
Luxury Condos
There were 1,031 condos sold for over $1 million in 2024 versus 662 in 2023. Thus, luxury condos took quite a jump in 2024. This again may have been affected by the new category of condos (townhomes) from zoning changes in Seattle. But as seen below, the top sales, were traditional condos. Overall, the Greater Seattle luxury condo market was very strong in 2024.
The five top sales in 2024 were in the new Avenue Estates in Downtown Bellevue. The 26 floor building was completed in 2024 and sits above a luxury hotel in which it shares amenities. In 2024, there were 5 sales above $6.7 million which was higher than any other condo.
Is Greater Seattle Real Estate Slowing Down?
As seen throughout blog, the Greater Seattle real estate market continued to grow in sales and in prices in 2024. So to answer the original question: are home prices dropping in Seattle? The answer is NO.
Every real estate market is different. To navigate the current issues, contact one of Ewing and Clark’s real estate brokers. Ewing and Clark has provided exceptional real estate service to Greater Seattle since 1900. Whether you are looking for a Belltown condo, a luxury home in Windermere, or your first Seattle home, please contact us.
For this blog the information and statistics were derived from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
