December’s home market set up 2018 as even more competitive

To those who bought a home in December, happy New Year.

For you who didn’t, it will take tenacity in 2018, given the current state of low inventory.

Pierce County’s inventory came in a little better than elsewhere, at 1.13 month’s worth. King County was at 0.56, according to the December sales activity report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Balanced markets fall more into the three-to-six-month range.

Median home prices for Pierce County in December hit $319,900, a 12.25 percent increase year over year, and just ahead of Kitsap County’s median home price of $315,000.

King County, as usual, was still heading to the stratosphere with median home prices of $635,000. Mason County came in at $230,000 and Thurston County was $285,000.

“December drew aggressive buyers, some motivated by expectations of a flattening market, with others trying to beat anticipated interest rate hikes,” George Moorhead, designated broker at Bentley Properties, said in NWMLS’ news release.

January is setting up to be another “aggressive” month when it comes to home buying.

Without Seattle Seahawks football to keep people occupied, “the 2018 housing market will be more intense earlier in January rather than heating up after the Super Bowl,” J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, said in Friday’s release.

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 4:58 PM with the headline "December’s home market set up 2018 as even more competitive."