For about three years I watched buyers lose bidding wars, waive every contingency under the sun, and still come up empty. So I want to say this plainly, because the June numbers finally back it up: if you’ve been waiting for the Seattle-area market to loosen its grip, it just did. Quietly, without a headline, without a crash. There are more homes on the market than there have been in years, prices have stopped climbing, and — here’s the twist — a lot of buyers are still standing on the sidelines waiting for a sign. This is the sign.
Let me walk you through what actually happened last month, and what I’d tell you if you were sitting across my kitchen table.
There are a lot more homes for sale right now
This is the big one. We ended June with 23,088 homes actively for sale across the Northwest MLS area — that’s up a striking 16.4% from a year ago, and up nearly 8% from just the month before. In plain terms, buyers had over 1,700 more homes to pick from in June than in May. That’s not a blip; inventory has been climbing fast all across the region.
Close to home, Snohomish County saw one of the biggest year-over-year jumps in the whole state at about 29%. So if you tried to buy in Everett or Lynnwood a couple years back and felt like there was nothing to look at, the shelves are stocked again. More choices means less pressure to make a panicked, sight-unseen offer — which, frankly, is how buying a home is supposed to feel.
Prices have cooled off — but they haven’t fallen off a cliff
Here’s where I have to talk people off both ledges. No, prices are not crashing. And no, they’re not still rocketing up either. The median sales price across the region in June was $650,000. That’s exactly flat from May, and down about 3% from $670,000 a year ago.
A 3% dip after years of relentless increases is not a collapse — it’s a market catching its breath. What it means for you depends on where you’re looking. King County’s median sat at $889,000 and Snohomish at $725,500, while San Juan County topped the list at just over $1 million. On the other end of the state, Adams County came in at $226,000. That’s a more than 4.5x spread across Washington, which is exactly why a statewide or national headline tells you almost nothing about your specific neighborhood. This is the whole reason “what’s the market doing?” is never a one-number answer.
So why are buyers still hesitating?
Because the two numbers everyone feels most — mortgage rates and monthly payments — are still higher than folks would like, and confidence follows payments. You can see it in the data: pending sales (homes going under contract) actually dipped about 1.6% from last June. Buyers are looking, but a chunk of them are still waiting.
And yet — closed sales in June were up 2.3% over a year ago and jumped more than 10% from May. Combined, buyers spent about $5.69 billion on homes and condos in the region last month. So the people who are ready are getting deals done, and getting them done with more leverage than buyers have had in a long time. My honest read: the hesitant crowd is the opportunity for the decisive crowd. When rates ease and everyone piles back in, the choice and the negotiating room you have today go away.
Is this a buyer’s market or a seller’s market?
Technically? Still a seller’s market — just barely. We use “months of inventory” to measure this: how long it would take to sell every listed home at the current pace. Four to six months is considered balanced. In June we were at 3.37 months, down a hair from 3.44 in May. Below balanced still tips slightly toward sellers.
But the trend is unmistakably moving toward the middle, and some of our close-in counties are the tightest of all — Kitsap (2.15 months), Pierce (2.66), and Snohomish (2.74) are still moving quickly. So the real answer, the one I give every client, is that we don’t have “a market” in Puget Sound. We have dozens of them, block by block. Yours might be a scramble while your friend’s across the bridge is wide open.
What I’d actually tell you to do
If you’re a buyer: this is the most negotiating power you’ve had since before the pandemic, with real choice and stable prices. Get pre-approved, know your true monthly comfort number, and take advantage of the room you have right now — before the sidelined crowd comes back.
If you’re a seller: buyers have options again, so the days of listing anything and watching ten offers roll in are behind us for now. Pricing right the first time, prepping the home, and marketing it properly is the whole ballgame. A well-prepared, correctly priced home still sells well — I’m seeing it happen every week.
And if you’re just trying to figure out which of those dozens of micro-markets you’re actually in, that’s exactly what I’m here for. Let’s look at your specific neighborhood, your price point, and your timeline together, and I’ll tell you straight what I see.
Questions I’m getting a lot right now
Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market in the Seattle area right now?
As of June 2026 it’s still technically a seller’s market by the numbers — about 3.37 months of inventory, below the four-to-six months considered balanced. But it’s the most buyer-friendly it has been in years, with inventory up 16.4% year over year and prices holding flat, giving buyers more choice and more room to negotiate.
Are home prices dropping in Washington in 2026?
They’ve softened modestly, not crashed. The June 2026 median sales price across the region was $650,000 — flat from May and down about 3% from $670,000 a year earlier. Prices vary a lot by county, from San Juan at just over $1 million to Adams at $226,000.
Why is housing inventory rising in the Puget Sound area?
Sellers are listing more homes than a year ago while some buyers stay cautious about rates, so supply is building. June 2026 ended with 23,088 active listings, up 16.4% year over year, with the biggest jumps in Snohomish, Skagit, Thurston, Walla Walla, and Okanogan counties.
Is now a good time to buy a home in Seattle?
For buyers who can comfortably afford today’s payment, June offered more homes and more negotiating leverage than in recent years, while prices were stable. The right answer depends on your finances and goals, so run your specific numbers with a local agent and lender.
Let’s talk about your corner of the map
Numbers like these are a starting point, not a strategy. What matters is what’s happening on your street, in your price range, on your timeline. If you’re weighing a move anywhere in Seattle, Bellevue, the Eastside, or greater Puget Sound, let’s connect and go through it together. Reach me and the team anytime at [email protected], or catch us on our show, Open House with Team Reba.
Rebecca “Reba” Haas has been helping people buy, sell, and invest across the Seattle area and greater Puget Sound since 2003. She leads Team Reba at RE/MAX Metro Eastside.
Information and statistics compiled and reported by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (June 2026 Monthly Market Snapshot). Statistics are for the NWMLS service area and are not a prediction of future results. This article is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice.
