Seattle Real Estate Podcast

Here we go again – homeowners are pulling their properties off the market rather than dropping prices, creating a housing deadlock that's making everyone scratch their heads. With 38% more delistings since the start of 2025 and sellers sitting pretty on their 2-3% mortgage rates, they're basically telling buyers "take it or leave it." Meanwhile, thanks to the Biden-era housing price explosion and the "transitory" inflation that's still hanging around like a bad houseguest, first-time buyers are priced out of starter homes that somehow cost $1-2 million. Remember when they told us all that government spending would reduce inflation? How's that working out? We're still dealing with the aftermath of dumping trillions into an overheated market while being told it was all temporary. Is anyone surprised that mortgage rates are stuck above 6% when we're still cooling off from that inflation bonfire? What's it going to take – a good old-fashioned recession – to get this market moving again? Drop a comment and let me know what you think happens next. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that notification bell!

The latest Northwest MLS (NWMLS) September 2025 Market Snapshot is out — and the data shows a clear shift!📈 Active listings jumped 27.3% year-over-year, giving buyers more options.💲 Median home prices slipped 0.7% from last year, sitting around $630,700.🏡 Closed sales were up nearly 6%, showing steady buyer demand despite higher inventory.🔔 Subscribe for monthly housing market updates and local real estate insights from the Pacific Northwest.

The FTC just filed a major antitrust lawsuit against Zillow and Redfin over a $100 million rental listings deal. Regulators claim the agreement was designed to eliminate competition in multifamily rental advertising — with commitments lasting up to nine years and layoffs of 450 Redfin employees.Zillow and Redfin deny wrongdoing, calling the partnership pro-consumer and a way to expand renter access. But the FTC says it’s “obviously anticompetitive” and is seeking structural relief, which could include divestiture or breaking apart parts of the deal.

The FTC just filed a major antitrust lawsuit against Zillow and Redfin over a $100 million rental listings deal. Regulators claim the agreement was designed to eliminate competition in multifamily rental advertising — with commitments lasting up to nine years and layoffs of 450 Redfin employees.Zillow and Redfin deny wrongdoing, calling the partnership pro-consumer and a way to expand renter access. But the FTC says it’s “obviously anticompetitive” and is seeking structural relief, which could include divestiture or breaking apart parts of the deal.

August 2025 brought cooler housing activity across Washington state, according to the latest NWMLS report. While closed sales dropped month-to-month, inventory is up nearly 31% year-over-year, giving buyers more options than they’ve had in years.

Seattle’s housing market is sending mixed signals in 2025. 🏡Metro median prices hover around $765K–$767KSome data shows the first year-over-year dip in nearly 2 yearsLong-term appreciation remains strong at +24% since 2020Inventory is rising, but it’s still a seller’s market

The Seattle housing market is undergoing a significant shift, offering the highest inventory levels seen since 2015! This game-changing trend is creating unprecedented opportunities for buyers in what has long been a fiercely competitive region.

The clash between real estate giant Zillow and Bay Area brokerage Compass just hit a new level. Starting June 30, Zillow will begin banning certain "pocket listings"—exclusive properties marketed privately by Compass before hitting the open market.Zillow’s new policy gives agents just two strikes—violate the rules three times and your listings could be banned from Zillow indefinitely. Meanwhile, Compass is holding firm, accusing Zillow of monopolizing listing access and limiting seller freedom.Even Redfin and Homes.com are picking sides. Could this shape the future of how homes are marketed in America?

Compass, a major real estate brokerage, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), accusing it of monopolistic and anti-competitive practices. The lawsuit focuses on restrictive rules that ban pre-marketing and exclusive listings outside the MLS.

The King County housing market saw a significant jump in inventory in January, with active listings rising 62.6% year over year, according to the latest report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.While increased supply is giving buyers more options, affordability remains a concern as median home prices continue to climb.Keep reading to learn more about this latest report, and what this means for buyers and sellers.

Dan Chapman, from Fairway Independent Mortgage, provides insights into the 2025 housing market. Key predictions include national home price growth of 4%, with Seattle expected to see a 6-7% increase, driven by limited inventory and robust demand. Rising mortgage rates, currently around 6.75%, continue to challenge affordability, keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines. High rent costs, exacerbated by constrained supply, further highlight affordability issues, particularly in urban hubs like Seattle. Chapman also predicts a gradual decline in mortgage rates during 2024, potentially boosting buyer activity. However, challenges like inflation, stagnant wages, and tight inventory persist. While new construction and renovations remain opportunities, market volatility and affordability will dominate discussions heading into 2025. This nuanced forecast emphasizes adapting to evolving market conditions while navigating economic and policy uncertainties, aligning with conservative values of fiscal responsibility and free-market resilience.

The $418 million settlement against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was predicted to disrupt the real estate industry, slashing agent commissions and housing prices. However, real-world data shows minimal impact. Average buyer-agent commissions barely budged, holding steady at 2.62% before the settlement and 2.59% afterward. Critics argued this would foster transparency and competition, but sellers continue to offer competitive commissions to attract buyers' agents. Realtors emphasize that sellers have long been able to negotiate commissions, making the settlement’s practical effect negligible. This reinforces the enduring value of market-driven practices over litigation-induced regulation.

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.”

Just 2.5% of homes in the US changed hands this year in the first eight months, the lowest turnover rate in at least 30 years, according an analysis by Redfin. The latest data from the real estate brokerage underscores just how much the housing market has stalled in 2024 as Americans faced a toxic combination of record-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates, creating one of the most unaffordable housing markets in a generation. A rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month has fueled hopes that the interest rate-sensitive housing market will soon experience a fresh jolt.

High mortgage interest rates continue to challenge the housing market, with both buyers and sellers hesitant to engage in transactions. Despite this, the market shows signs of loosening, as recent data suggests a potential decline in rates. As of August 13th, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate stands at 6.49%, the lowest in over a year. Although home sales have increased by 5.9% year-over-year, they remain at historically low levels due to high rates and limited inventory. Interestingly, the number of active listings has surged by 37.7% compared to last year, yet the market remains tight. Notably, the median home price has risen by 5.7%, driven by continued buyer demand despite the financial challenges. The Federal Reserve's anticipated rate cuts in September could further ease the market, potentially leading to a surge in home prices as interest rates decline.

The US housing market has officially entered bizzaro world. The law of supply and demand is a basic principle of any free market, and right now, it's being subverted by strange happenings in the real-estate market. The supply of homes for sale is rising while demand for homes is falling. And yet housing prices continue to hit record highs. "When it comes to the housing market, the laws of supply and demand don't seem to apply any longer," the economist David Rosenberg said in a note this week. Rosenberg said existing home sales dropped to a four-month low in May to 4.1 million units, representing a year-over-year decline of 2.8%, while existing homes available for sale soared 18.5% year over year in May.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, where thousands of Western Washington real estate agents share information on properties for sale, will not opt into a national settlement that brought new attention to agent commissions this year. Following a series of legal challenges accusing the National Association of Realtors of inflating agent commissions, the association in March agreed to a $418 million settlement agreement that will make key changes to agent commission practices in many areas of the country and shield the national trade group from certain future legal actions. The agreement covered scores of listing services that are affiliated with the association, but independent listing services like Washington’s NWMLS were left to choose whether to join and agree to the same terms.

While mortgage rates remain higher than they were during the housing market's booming pandemic years, Moody's Ratings has predicted them to finally start declining over the next few years in a new report. Exactly a week ago, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, better known as Freddie Mac, reported that the average rate for a 30-year-fixed mortgage—the most popular among U.S. borrowers—had reached 7.1 percent, a record high for this year so far.

Sold a home in the last four years? Congratulations. You’re entitled to a piece of the $418 million Realtor settlement fund. But don’t expect a big windfall. Since you will be among 21 million other Americans who are part of the “settlement class,” the amount per seller — after deducting attorneys’ fees — could be as low as $13. That’s a pittance compared with the $18,000-$22,000 commission Southern California sellers typically pay buyers’ agents — on top of what they paid their own agents. “It’s not going to be a lot of money,” said Jack Miller, president and chief executive of Orange County-based consulting firm T3 Sixty. “It’s not really a financial thing. The rules changes are the bigger deal here.” The size of the seller payout is one of four key takeaways from the 107-page settlement reached this month between plaintiffs in more than 20 class-action lawsuits and the National Association of Realtors. Homeowners and their attorneys argued in federal lawsuits across the nation that the decades-old practice of requiring sellers to post compensation offers for buyer agents amounted to price-fixing, keeping the 5-6% commission rate artificially high.

In 2024, the real estate market exhibits a fascinating paradox. While mortgage rates have recently decreased, creating a more appealing environment for homebuyers, the challenge lies in the unpredictability of these rates. Despite predictions of a further drop in mortgage rates, possibly into the high fives, the Federal Reserve's anticipated interest rate cuts add complexity to the decision-making process for potential buyers. In major cities like San Francisco, the work-from-home trend has led to a departure from the downtown areas, negatively impacting real estate values. However, across most of the United States, the restricted supply of available homes continues to push prices upward. This scarcity is partly due to current homeowners hesitating to sell and lose their low-interest rate mortgages. Experts suggest that now could be an opportune time for buyers, with the potential for refinancing if rates continue to fall. Yet, they caution against trying to time the market, advising buyers to focus on current affordability and long-term plans.

In a notable shift, mortgage rates have dipped below 7% for the first time since August, signaling a potential easing in the housing market's affordability crisis. This drop marks the seventh consecutive week of declining rates, coinciding with an improvement in inflation and the Federal Reserve's pause on rate hikes. The Fed's recent signals of potential rate cuts in 2024 have further buoyed optimism in the mortgage market. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.95%, a welcome relief compared to the near 8% highs seen previously. This decline is expected to stimulate the housing market, although high rates on existing mortgages may continue to limit inventory as homeowners are hesitant to move from their low-rate mortgages. The situation presents a complex dynamic, where lower rates might boost buyer demand but still struggle to motivate current homeowners to sell, potentially driving up housing prices due to limited supply.

In today's dynamic real estate landscape, sellers are grappling with the ideal time to list their properties. As inventory levels remain low, especially in areas like the Pacific Northwest, experts suggest that sellers capitalize on the current market conditions. Interest rates, a key factor influencing buyer activity, have fluctuated significantly, peaking briefly over 8% before stabilizing around 7%. This uncertainty around rates, combined with the Federal Reserve's efforts to tweak the economy, could trigger a surge in buyer interest if rates drop. Consequently, more sellers might also enter the market, motivated by lower mortgage rates. The consensus among professionals is to list properties shortly after the holiday season, around mid-January, to leverage the low supply. While the market may offer slightly higher prices later in the year, the lack of current data makes future predictions unreliable. Thus, the advice tilts towards listing sooner rather than later, exploiting the low supply which is likely to persist through the upcoming summer.

In the latest episode of the Seattle Real Estate podcast, the focus was on the current state of the housing market as the year winds down. A notable point of discussion was the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain higher interest rates, currently hovering around 7.2%, a slight decrease from the 7.8% peak. This marginal reduction has sparked a cautious optimism among buyers and sellers, leading to a modest increase in market activity. Interestingly, the holiday season's typical slowdown in real estate transactions is compounded by the current high-interest environment. Despite these challenges, median home prices have continued to rise, with a 4.6% increase compared to last year. The podcast highlighted the unique dynamics of the Pacific Northwest market, emphasizing the limited inventory driving home prices upward, and the anticipation of potential interest rate reductions in 2024. While the market isn't booming, there's a sense of cautious optimism as the industry navigates through these economically challenging times.

In a striking turn of events, plummeting mortgage rates have triggered a nationwide scramble among homeowners to refinance their loans. The recent report by Freddie Mac indicated a significant drop in the 30-year fixed rate mortgage to about 7%, a notable decrease from the previous month. This sudden dip, attributed to the Federal Reserve's measures to combat inflation, has opened a window of financial reprieve for borrowers.Experts believe that this could be the onset of a major refinance boom, reminiscent of the late '80s when rates dramatically declined. The Mortgage Bankers Association has already observed a 14% surge in refinance applications from the previous week. This frenzy is not just about rate drops; it reflects a broader economic shift as the Fed aims for a soft landing amidst recession fears.Homeowners are poised to save significantly, with the average borrower looking at over $100 monthly savings. This trend is especially beneficial for those with larger, jumbo loans. As the financial landscape continues to evolve, the real estate market anticipates an increase in both buyer and seller activity, potentially revitalizing a market that's been sluggish due to previously high rates.

In the latest episode of the Seattle Real Estate Podcast, experts discuss the future of the housing market, particularly for millennials. With prices having soared in recent years, many first-time homebuyers, especially millennials, feel they've missed their chance due to high prices and missed low interest rates. However, 2024 brings a glimmer of hope. Experts predict a drop in interest rates, although they caution that low inventory could still lead to competitive bidding, potentially driving prices up.For millennials eager to enter the market, the advice is clear: act sooner rather than later. Despite the current higher rates, the possibility of refinancing in the future should be considered. They also stress the importance of preparing for the purchase - from saving for a down payment to ensuring a good credit score. Additionally, with a potential interest rate drop in 2024, the Seattle housing market could become even more competitive.For those able to buy now, it might be a wise decision, as the market is expected to ramp up in the latter half of 2024. The podcast underlines the importance of getting financially prepped and being decisive in a market that's ever-changing and increasingly competitive.

Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level since August, lender Freddie Mac said on Thursday, sparking a refinancing of loans, suggesting homeowners were quick to jump at opportunities to save on their mortgage payments.The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to an average of about 7 percent for the week, a drop of nearly one percent from a little over a month ago."The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged near 7 percent this week, down from nearly 7.80 percent just six weeks ago," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a statement. The difference in rate could save the average homeowner more than a hundred dollars a month.The fall in rates fueled a mortgage loan refinancing frenzy, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said. Its Refinance Index jumped by 14 percent from the previous week and was 10 percent higher than the same week one year ago, lenders said."Refinance applications saw the strongest week in two months, increasing on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive week for the first time since late 2021," Joel Kan, MBA's deputy chief economist, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The 30-year mortgage rate will fall below 7% by April 2024, Realtor.com says in its housing forecast for next year.The average mortgage rate in 2024 is expected to be 6.8%, and the 30-year may fall to as low as 6.5% by the end of the year, according to Realtor.com’s report.“We’re gonna to start to see some relief for buyers who have been priced out,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, told MarketWatch. “It’s still expensive to buy a house, but instead of getting more expensive, we’ve turned the corner,” she added. “We’re starting to see housing get less expensive.”

An October jury ruling against the nation's largest trade organization could have sweeping consequences for anyone looking to buy or sell a home.The class-action lawsuit – Sitzer v. the National Association of Realtors – alleged that NAR, Keller Williams Realty, Anywhere Real Estate (formerly known as Realogy), RE/MAX and HomeServices of America (all major real estate brokerages), colluded to artificially inflate agent commissions.RE/MAX and Anywhere Real Estate (formerly known as Realogy) earlier this year settled out of court for a combined $140 million. A jury ultimately sided against the remaining defendants on Oct. 31, awarding a judgment of $1.8 million that could, depending on the judge’s decision, surge to over $5 billion in total damages.“They ultimately agreed that there was a conspiracy among Realtors to keep their fees artificially high,” says Omar Ochoa, a class action attorney and founder of Omar Ochoa Law Firm in Texas.

 The nearly $1.8 billion jury verdict in a home seller’s classaction lawsuit in Missouri against the National Association of Realtors and large brokerage franchisors has consumers and brokers in Washington state asking questions about residential real estatebrokerage. The jury found that the defendants conspired to artificially inflate commissions paid to real estate brokers based on a mandatory National Association of Realtors’ rule that requires the seller, via the listing broker, to offer compensation to the buyer’s broker.Since 2019, Northwest MLS (NWMLS) has spearheaded initiatives that afford buyers and sellers more information about broker compensation in their transaction and clear opportunities to negotiate their broker’s compensation. Those initiatives also serve to promote innovation and competition amongbrokers.

The Federal Reserve is going to shock investors next year by aggressively cutting interest rates amid a slowing economy, UBS says.The firm said in its 2024 economic outlook it expected economic growth to slow considerably next year after this year's brisk pace of growth, and that should lead to reduced retail spending, a worsening consumer balance sheet, and a continued rise in the unemployment rate."We expect economic growth to slow sharply in the next few quarters, with a mild contraction worth half a percentage point in the middle of the year," UBS said in a Monday note.The firm said that over the course of the whole year, it expected GDP to grow just 0.3% in 2024, representing a marked slowdown from the 3% gain over the past four quarters.

Google ended its agreement with Australian construction firm Lendlease to develop $15 billion worth of master-planned districts in San Francisco amidst a major cost-cutting drive this year, Lendlease announced Friday. The two companies were planning to develop four campuses across the Bay Area including a site called Downtown West in San José, Moffet Park in Sunnyvale, as well as Middlefield Park and North Bayshore in Mountain View, per Lendlease. The developments were collectively known as the "San Francisco Bay Project," and were expected to commence in 2026. Lendlease secured its contract with Google in 2019. "The decision to end these agreements follow a comprehensive review by Google of its real estate investments and a determination by both organisations that the existing agreements are no longer mutually beneficial given current market conditions," Lendlease said in the press release. 

Mortgage rates ticked down this week, snapping a seven-week streak of increases.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.76% in the week ending November 2, down from 7.79% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 6.95%.The news comes a day after the Federal Reserve said in a widely anticipated move that it would leave its benchmark lending rate at the highest level in 22 years.“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage paused its multi-week climb but continues to hover under 8%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.“The Federal Reserve again decided not to raise interest rates but has not ruled out a hike before year-end,” he said. “Coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, this ambiguity around monetary policy will likely have an impact on the overall economic landscape and may continue to stall improvements in the housing market.”

A federal jury in Kansas City on Tuesday found the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and some of the largest real estate brokers in the country guilty of colluding to inflate real estate commissions.Why it matters: The verdict is a major shake up to the U.S. real estate market and could change how Americans purchase homes, or specifically, how they pay for broker fees.The big picture: The jury, after around two weeks of testimony from the plaintiffs and defendants, ordered the NAR and real estate franchises HomeServices of America and Keller Williams to pay $1.78 billion in damages to the sellers of more than 260,000 homes in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois — the plaintiffs in the case.