Dear friend who quietly shelved the home search,
I’ve been thinking about you. You did everything right. You saved, you got hopeful, you toured a few places, and then you hit the same two walls so many buyers hit these past few years: prices that kept climbing and almost nothing to look at. At some point you told yourself you’d wait until things calmed down. I don’t blame you one bit.
So I want to give you an honest update, and I’m going to do it the way I’d do it across my kitchen table: with a handful of real numbers, not hype. Because four of them changed this summer, and together they say it might be time to dust that search back off.
$11,000 lower
That’s roughly how much the national median asking price has come down from a year ago. Per Realtor.com, June’s median asking price was $430,000, nearly $11,000 under where it sat last year. Before that word “falling” tightens your chest, hear me out: these are asking prices, not sold prices, and this is not a crash. It’s sellers finally reading the room and pricing realistically from day one instead of listing high and cutting later. As Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, put it, this is “a welcome sign that we are in a functioning market.” Prices were never going to climb forever. They’re just settling closer to what you can actually pay.
8 months in a row
This one matters because it tells you the price shift isn’t a fluke. According to that same Realtor.com report, June marked the eighth straight month that the typical asking price came in below where it was a year earlier. Eight months is a trend, not a blip. The pressure that made you feel like you were always chasing a moving target? It has genuinely eased.
The most homes in 3 years
If you spent the last few years watching listings vanish before you could even book a tour, this is the number for you. Realtor.com reports that June had the most homes for sale of any June in three years. And it’s showing up right here at home too: Puget Sound had more than 16% more active listings this June than a year ago.
I’ll be straight with you, supply still isn’t back to the 2017-to-2019 days everywhere. But this changes your whole experience. You don’t have to fire off a panicked offer just to stay in the running. You’ve got better odds of landing the right home, not just the only one available. And you have room to negotiate again. You’d be shopping from a stronger spot than buyers had even a year ago.
The first time since 2022
And if you’re reaching for that very first home, this last number is the one I most wanted you to see. The entry-level end of the market, where first-timers actually shop, is finally the part loosening up. As Mischa Fisher, Chief Economist at Zillow, explains, “The lowest price tiers are exhibiting some softness in terms of price, they also had the most listing-activity growth, the first time since 2022 that’s been the case.”
Translation: more starter homes to choose from, and a little more give on price, at the same time. That combination simply hasn’t been true in years.
So here’s my ask
Don’t take my word for any of this, and please don’t take a scary headline’s word either. Take your own numbers, in your own price range, in the neighborhoods you actually want, and let’s look at them together. If a tight budget or a thin selection is what sent you to the sidelines, the ground has shifted enough that it’s worth one more honest look. No pressure, and no obligation. Just reach out to me and the team anytime at [email protected].
Rooting for you,
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.
Sources: Realtor.com (Danielle Hale); Zillow (Mischa Fisher); local inventory via Northwest Multiple Listing Service. This article is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice; consult a professional about your specific situation.
