history at a glance
- Analysis by real estate firm Redfin ranked the country’s 100 most populous metro areas between February and August 2022 using a variety of metrics, including prices, price declines and supply, to gauge how quickly their housing markets are cooling.
- The fastest cooling market is in Seattle.
- In Seattle, nearly 34 percent fewer homes were sold in a two-week period in August than a year earlier, while the average home sold for 5 percent more per square foot in August than a year earlier.
The real estate market is cooling the fastest, particularly in West Coast cities already reeling from the ongoing affordability crisis, with Seattle leading the way, according to new analysis.
Analysis by real estate firm Redfin ranked the country’s 100 most populous metro areas between February and August 2022 using a variety of metrics, including prices, price declines and supply, to gauge how quickly their housing markets are cooling.
“These are all places where homebuyers are feeling the sting of rising house prices, higher mortgage rates and inflation very strongly. They’re slowing down partly because so many people have been overpriced and partly because last year’s record-low rates have left them unsustainably hot,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, in a news release.
“The good news is that the slowdown is dampening competition and giving more bargaining power to those who can still afford it,” Fairweather added.
In Seattle, nearly 34 percent fewer homes were sold in a two-week period in August than a year earlier, while the average home sold for 5 percent more per square foot in August than a year earlier. According to the analysis, this compares to an increase of 23 percent in February compared to the previous year.
Soaring mortgage rates, which have soared to over 6 percent this month, have also contributed to Seattle’s rapidly cooling market. According to Redfin, a monthly mortgage payment for the average Seattle home is more than $4,400 at today’s 6 percent mortgage rates — up from $3,300 earlier this year.
The Federal Reserve hiked its base rate Wednesday for the fifth time since March. This could make buying a home more expensive.
Seattle was followed by Las Vegas, where price per square foot (PPSF) fell 14.5 percentage points year over year. The average retail price in Las Vegas in August was $416,000, down 3 percent from July.
“The housing market has shifted in favor of buyers very quickly,” said Tzahi Arbeli, agent at Las Vegas Redfin. “Not only have prices fallen in recent months, sellers are seeing the market cool down and are more open to price negotiations, concessions and closing costs.
The real estate company found that some of the fastest-cooling markets, like Las Vegas and Sacramento, were becoming relocation hotspots, drawing telecommuters to escape pricier markets. This caused real estate prices to rise drastically.
Three California cities — San Jose, San Diego, and Sacramento — round out Redfin’s five fastest-cooling housing markets.
The typical home price in Sacramento has increased 33 percent since the pandemic began, from $430,000 to $570,000.
Here are the 10 fastest cooling housing markets in the US
1.Seattle
2. Las Vegas
3. San Jose
4.San Diego
5. Tie: Sacramento and Denver
7. Phoenix
8.Oaklands
9. North Harbor, Fl.
10. Tacoma, Washington.
