Market Update | May 2025
Slow Start to Prime Buying Season in the Marketplace
Published June 6, 2025 | Courtesy of NWMLS
Market Recap
Market Recap
As spring gets underway, inventory levels are high but the pace of sales is relatively slow. The number of active listings showed double-digit year-over-year increases in most counties when compared to April 2024, demonstrating that homeowners are primed and ready to sell.
Buyers were granted a bit of a reprieve as mortgage rates stayed relatively consistent throughout April, finishing out the month at 6.76% – the same rate as the end of March 2025. In addition, the median sales price for residential and condominium sales stayed virtually unchanged from March 2025, increasing from $649,999 to $650,000 in April 2025.
“As the number of sellers continues to outpace buyers, it is not surprising that price growth has slowed,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER). Recent media coverage identifies not only socioeconomic uncertainties such as tariffs and inflation, but also the willingness of both buyers and sellers to make concessions as potential factors in final sales prices in the last month.
Active Listings
There was a 47.4% increase year-over-year in the total number of properties listed for sale in the NWMLS service area. There were 14,459 active listings on the market at the end of April 2025,compared to 9,813 at the end of April 2024.
When compared to the previous month, active inventory increased by 2,819 listings (+24.2%), up from 11,640 in March 2025.
The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased throughout the NWMLS coverage area, with 24 out of 26 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase. The six counties with the highest increases in active inventory were Snohomish (+84.8%), Columbia (+76.9%), King (+71.3%), Clallam (+70.7%), Whatcom (+68.1%) and Grant (+59.8%).
Year Over Year Active Listings
Island, King and Snohomish County
New Listings
NWMLS brokers added 13,129 new listings to the database in May 2025, a year-over-year increase of 13.5% compared to May 2024 (11,572). When compared to the previous month (April 2025), new listings increased by 20.9%, when 10,858 listings were added to the NWMLS database.
The number of new listings increased year-over-year in 21 of 26 counties. The six counties with the largest year-over-year increases were Adams (+150%), Columbia (+90%), Clallam (+41.2%), Grays Harbor (+41.1%), San Juan (+37.8%), and Grant (+31.9%).
Year Over Year New Listings
Island, King and Snohomish County
Pending Sales
There were 8,249 residential units & condo units under contract in May 2025, a slight increase of .4% when compared to May 2024 (8,220). When compared to the previous month, the number of pending listings increased by nearly 11%, up from 7,435 listings under contract in April 2025.
Closed Sales
The number of closed sales decreased by 3.3 % year-over-year (6,467 in May 2025 compared to 6,689 in May 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales increased by 9.9%, up from 5,887 sales in April 2025.
14 out of 26 counites saw an increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year. The six counties with the largest increases were Jefferson (+48.4%), Cowlitz (+47.8%), San Juan (+27.8%), Adams (+20%), and Skagit (+17.5%). The total dollar value of closed sales in May 2025 for residential homes was $4,732,782,810 and was $546,957,344 for condominiums ($5,279,740,154 in total).
Months of Inventory
A balanced market is considered to be 4 to 6 months by most industry experts. At the current rate of sales, it would take a little more than two and a half months (2.83) to sell every home that is active in the NWMLS inventory. The six counties with the lowest months of inventory in April 2025 were Snohomish (1.97), Kitsap (2.01), Thurston (2.12), Pierce (2.18), Cowlitz (2.21), and Skagit (2.61).
Year Over Year Months of Inventory
Island, King, and Snohomish County
Median Price
Overall, the median price for residential homes and condominiums sold in May 2025 was $654,995, a slight decrease of 0.8% when compared to May 2024 ($660,000). When compared to last month, the median price slightly increased, up from $650,000 in April 2025.
The three counties with the highest median sale prices were King ($865,000), San Juan ($831,000), and Snohomish ($785,000), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Ferry ($138,000), Columbia ($256,000), and Pacific ($323,000).
