There’s no doubt that we are feeling the winds of change in the Spokane Real Estate Market lately. While the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell goes head-to-head with inflation and economic policy, changes can be observed in every datapoint as we enter the third quarter of 2022.
Since before the pandemic of 2022, the Spokane Real Estate Market (like much of the Nation) has experienced tighter than normal inventory in almost every price bracket. Along with lower than normal Mortgage Rates, we experienced aggressive bidding wars, rapid price escalation and a white-hot Real Estate Market. The pendulum was deep in Seller territory, giving sellers a hefty advantage in the market and raising the eyebrows consumers and industry veterans alike.
Like every Real Estate market before, markets change. Change is a healthy component of any market. The sky isn’t falling, the market isn’t crashing, and you’re going to be okay.
It helps to understand a few factors that we watch, these datapoints tell us the direction of the wind, when we know which way the wind is blowing, we can make educated decisions and make winning plays… no matter what the market.
Active Listings – just like it sounds, the active listing count is the amount of active listings entering the market. These are Sellers offering their property for sale. We often see inventory rise and fall with our market’s natural seasonality in the Spokane Market (Rising in March and beginning to fall in September). When you look at year-over-year trends in the Spokane Area, Inventory has been declining for the last 4-5 years… each year with less active inventory than the year prior.
Spokane Real Estate Market July 2022 Active Listings
Pending Ratio – Ahh! Fractions! Your math teacher was right, you WOULD use this someday. Don’t worry, I’ll show my work. The pending ratio is an easy ratio between the number of listings on the market and the number of listings with an active contract (pending). July’s Pending Ratio in Spokane is just a hair over 50%. A 50% pending ratio simply means that half of the homes on the market have an active contract.
Fifty percent is still relatively strong! The market has been decelerating from over 75% pending in July 2021. Many are feeling the effects of a decelerating market, not necessarily a declining market.
The Spokane Real Estate Market Pending Ratio has been dropping steadily in 2022
Months of Inventory – this data point measures how fast inventory is being absorbed into the market. Spokane’s Months of Inventory as of the writing of this article is 2.0 Months. Meaning if no other inventory came on everything available on the market would be sold within two months. Over the past two years, we’ve experienced this rate days in some markets and weeks in others. Inventory was being consumed so fast, if nothing new entered the market everything would have been sold in a matter of days.
Breaking it all down
Interest rates have been climbing steadily through 2022, and we are experiencing the effects of a decelerating market. We have been experiencing seller price drops, something we have not experienced in some time, but those of us who have been in the business understand them quite well. Moving forward there will be two markets:
- Those homes that are priced and conditioned for the market – they will experience strong demand and even some buyer urgency (multiple offers etc.) and
- Those homes that are not priced and conditioned for the market – they will experience longer time on the market (if they sell at all).
It has never been more important to work with a trusted team of Real Estate Professionals who understand the market and can help you make a solid investment in Spokane Real Estate.
Questions? Call our office at (509) 990-SOLD / 7653.
