Facebook
X
Pinterest
Copy Link
Hi. I’m Jeff Tucker, principal economist at Windermere Real Estate, and this is a Local Look at the April 2026 data from the Northwest MLS.
We are now in the heart of the spring selling season, and it is shaping up to be a little quieter than last year’s spring.
Across the Northwest MLS, there were 2% fewer closed sales in April 2026 than in April of last year. Pending home sales, by contrast, climbed by 3% from last year.
On the supply side, the flow of new listings was up an impressive 14% from last April’s pace, or 12% cumulatively, year-to-date. Finally, the month ended with just over 15,000 active listings around the MLS, or 30% more than last April. That continues the local trend of rising inventory, reflecting more sellers than buyers coming to the market this year.
The median sale price ticked down from last April, by just $5,000, or less than 1%.
Now for a closer look at the four counties encompassing the greater Seattle area.
Closed sales declined by 4%, or 130 homes, from last April around the region. Snohomish County alone saw closed sales drop by 104 homes, or 15%, while King, Pierce and Kitsap Counties saw sales within a couple percentage points of last April’s totals.
Median sale prices, though, dipped the most here in King County, where they fell 7% short of last April’s $1,030,000 mark. Prices were flat in Snohomish, near $800,000; and up modestly to about $600,000 in both Pierce and Kitsap Counties.
Looking ahead, pending sales actually climbed 3% across the region in April, led by strong growth in Pierce and Kitsap Counties, while only King County saw a modest dip in pending home sales.
On the supply side, the 4-county greater Seattle area ended the month with 37% more active listings than last April, led by 56% growth in Snohomish County and 37% growth in King County.
Spring remains the best time of year to sell a house, but this spring also looks like an unusually good time to buy a house, thanks to unusually many listings, which are taking a little longer to sell on average, and in some areas selling for a little less than similar houses last year. Well-presented, appropriately-priced homes are still seeing a lot of competition, but plenty of other homes are lingering a little longer on the market, selling at or below list price. It seems that the negative effects of the war in Iran are discouraging some buyers, who may be taking a “wait-and-see” approach, which leaves the market a little more balanced for the many buyers who are still forging ahead this spring. If economic and geopolitical news improves, there’s still plenty of time to see a busy second half of the spring selling season.
