This week Black Knight, Inc. released its latest Mortgage Monitor Report, a market update based on data through the end of March 2018. Nationally, home prices rose more in the first two months of 2018 (1.24 percent) than the start of any other year since 2005. Western states are seeing the highest rates of appreciation in the country as they represent all 11 markets with a double digit annual growth.
Leading the nation in home appreciation is San Jose where home prices have risen 24.1 percent over the past year to $1.17 million, a $226,000 increase from just a year ago. In comparison to the rest of the country, more than half of its 100 largest markets have median home prices below San Jose’s $226,000 annual growth. Las Vegas had the nation’s second fastest-appreciating market, surpassing Seattle, where home prices rose nearly 15 percent from a year ago.
In the latest NWMLS Market Update, the median closed price for residential listings increased more than 13 percent from a year ago. The median cost of a single-family home in King County reached a new high of $725,000 in April, surpassing March’s old high of $690,000. In Seattle, the median home price is up 13 percent from a year ago to $819,000. On the Eastside, the median home price is up 7 percent from a year ago at $943,000, but below the record of $950,000 set a few months ago. Home prices in Snohomish County have also exceeded $500,000 for the first time.
Area-wide, inventory is at 1.3 months, remaining below the 4 to 6 months level used by industry experts as a gauge of a balanced market. King, Kitsap and Snohomish counties all reported less than a month of inventory. Condo inventory supply also remains low at 0.87 months, or just above three weeks.