#21 - Market Update: Lowered mortgage rates provide boost but affordability remains elusive

Seattle Real Estate Podcast

Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of September 2024.

Market Recap

The further reduction of interest rates in September by the Federal Reserve provided a positive end-of-the-summer boost to the market. Double-digit increases in active and new listings and single-digit increases in median home prices demonstrated a tentative balance between the ongoing seller’s market and newfound buyer confidence.

However, experts caution that without deeper cuts to interest rates, housing affordability will remain out of reach for many would-be buyers. “Interest rates remain over double what they were just three years ago (6.08% at the end of September versus 3.01% at the same time in 2021 for 30-year fixed rate mortgages). This continues to have a major impact on affordability,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) at the University of Washington. “It seems unlikely that the volume of transactions will pick up substantially without some significant improvement in affordability.”