Spring Market Update 2026
As the spring market heats up we are seeing some hot and some cold weather in the market. In some cases it looks like a seller’s market with multiple offers and modest escalating prices and in other cases it looks like a buyer’s market where buyer’s are demanding more concessions such as rate buy downs, lower prices, where increased inventory and longer wait times on market are allowing buyers to shop around.
Rising Rates, Declining Prices
Rates began to fall in January resulting in a robust early winter market, as we saw rates dip under 6% in February for the first time in 3 years. Forecasters have been predicting that rates would toggle between the low 6% range and the upper 5% range. However in March due to war with Iran and energy price surges rates jumped back up to the 6.5% range and have been slowing making their way back down to 6% over the last few weeks hovering this week around 6.29%. With energy prices rising fears of inflation are back on the table. The bond market has been impacted resulting a Federal Reserve that is unlikely to cut rates again soon.
The 2026 the spring market shows that for the most part home prices are on a downward trend (with some exceptions) that began in 2022 but became more deflationary in 2025. Inventory for homes has grown significantly this spring giving buyer’s more choices. According to Redfin in March 2026, home prices in Washington were down 0.21% compared to 2025. Zillow claims prices are down .5% from one year ago. Although there is a slow down in the spring market due to higher rates and uncertainty, economists expect the market will catch-up and rebound later this year.
Is Now the Time to Sell?
Seller’s are spending more time on market which for many can seem unsettling after many years of rapid selling timelines. While single family homes are in strong demand with some extended wait times on market, townhomes and condos are both experiencing longer wait times on market. My advice is to be patient. In a normal market wait times to sell can take up to 5 months.
Some seller’s are holding on to high prices from 2020-2022 that inflated due to the low interest years. My advice is that if you want to hold onto higher prices and are not willing to negotiate, you may want to wait to sell for another time when rates drop again. However I would not expect 3% rates in the near future, the new normal will be 6% for the forseeable future with maybe some modest dips. The general rule of thumb is that if you are losing money in a real estate sale, you have not owned it long enough. The market is a cyclical and always comes back.
Middle Housing
A reminder that the WA State single family home zone has be upzoned to effectively eliminate single family housing statewide by allowing 4-6 units on every existing parcel. Property can be subdivided either into new tax parcels, or single family homes can be converted into 4-6 condominiums units.
Some property owners may find that they are able to subdivide and develop, or extract land value from the home, however others will find that they can not. Not every property is suited to develop, and in many cases developers are finding that the regulations to redevelop carry infrastructure costs (such as water/sewer upgrades) and other fees that break the budget. Sellers of single family also want high land values and this has resulted in not as much middle housing being built as previously thought.
A new bill in the WA State Legislature now is Senate bill 6026 Housing Supply and Zoning, a big change that is coming to zoning that will allow strip malls and commercial zones to build housing. This will have a much bigger impact on housing development than Middle Housing, especially for affordable housing. Nonetheless building any kind of housing is still extremely expesive making affordability difficult to achieve for new construction sales.
If you are considering selling the good news is properties that well-priced and well positioned houses still have strong demand.
If you have any questions or thoughts about the market please feel free to give me a call anytime @ 206-235-6925.