by Calculated Risk on 5/07/2020 10:01:00 AM

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Western Washington housing market adjusting to new ways of operating

Residential real estate activity around Western Washington reflected expected declines during April with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll. A new report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows year-over-year (YOY) drops system-wide in new listings, pending sales and closed sales, but prices increased nearly 6.4%.

“With the first full month of post-COVID-19 data in hand, it’s clear the Puget Sound housing market has been hit but not knocked out,” stated Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardener. “The normally active spring market is significantly slower than normal due to COVID-19, but it has not come to a halt,” he observed, adding, “In my opinion, it is responding to the current circumstances exactly as expected.”
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The Northwest MLS report for April shows area-wide inventory fell nearly 21% from a year ago, dropping from 12,955 listings to 10,282.
emphasis added

There were 5,866 sales in April 2020, down from 7,578 sales in April 2019.

The press release is for the Northwest. In King County, sales were down 22.6% year-over-year, and active inventory was down 20.6% year-over-year.

In Seattle, sales were down 25.3% year-over-year, and inventory was down 30.8% year-over-year..  This puts the months-of-supply in Seattle at just 1.7 months.

The closed sales are for contracts mostly signed in February and March.   There will be a significant decline in sales in coming months.