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Four months of inventory. Let that sink in. We are teetering on the edge of a buyers’ market — territory the Eastside hasn’t seen since around 2012. This is uncharted water. But uncharted doesn’t mean dangerous. It means you need a good navigator.
Let’s start with what the data is actually telling us. The median sold price came in at $1.575M — essentially flat, both month-over-month and year-over-year. After last month’s small uptick, that’s a stabilizing signal, not a collapse. Inventory is up 40%, pendings are down 8%, so buyers are buying. The market isn’t frozen. It’s just different.
Rates are sitting at 6.69%, and I keep hearing people clutch their pearls over it. Rates aren’t going anywhere meaningful anytime soon. The latest prediction I saw had rates dropping to 6.2% eventually — and that’s simply not worth putting your life on hold for. If you’re sitting on a sub-5% rate, yes, today’s rates sting. I get it. But focus on the payment, keep the home, and you’ll be fine.
Here’s the number that tells the real story: only 27% of homes sold at or above asking price, and that is likely after a 5% price drop to cancel and relist. That means three out of four are closing below list — sometimes well below. When that’s the reality, the strategy has to shift.
For sellers: the comps conversation has changed. Closed sales tell you where the market was. Active listings tell you what buyers are choosing between today. Pending sales tell you what buyers are actually willing to buy. When I sit down to recommend a list price, I’m spending more time on actives and pendings than I am on solds. Your competition isn’t a sale from four months ago — it’s the home two streets over that just listed yesterday.
For buyers: this is genuinely one of the best environments in over a decade to be a buyer on the Eastside. More choices, motivated sellers, and real room to negotiate. That said, don’t mistake a buyers’ market for a slow market — homes that are priced right and show well are still moving. Show up ready.
Lastly, as I type this update, it appears the market might be leveling out. I think prices have settled and a little balance is coming into play, but, as always, time will tell.
