Record Inventory or Hype? The GSHMR for June, 2026

welcome to the latest and greatest Greater Seattle Housing Market Update! As always, to skip ahead and jump right to the stats, you can do so by clicking here. And here's the condo version. For more information, continue reading below!

The news headlines are getting quite alarming regarding the elevated inventory levels we've been seeing in our area. Articles like this from Fox 13, or this one from Market Watch, highlight some pretty sensational headlines. Hell, even our own local Seattle Times are firing off internal shots hinting that the housing market is on the precipice of a correction, if not a collapse.

Like most things in life, I agree with Larry on this one. While it's true that total inventory stock is at 14 year highs, what makes up that stock is very important to identify and distinguish from itself. 

I looked at King county inventory going back to January of 2011. The blue line represents the total single family inventory and the red line represents condo inventory. What we see is that, while SFR inventory is certainly elevated relative to recent years, we've seen similar levels of inventory in 2018. Meanwhile, condos haven't seen inventory levels this saturated in roughly 15 years. 

Not to dismiss the articles referenced earlier, but they're not quite reporting on the full story when lumping both property types together. Still, not to take away all their merit, there is no denying that we are at elevated levels of supply. Whether or not to consider that alarming, is individual discretion. 

I've touched on this in past reports, but I feel it's the difference between townhomes and non-townhomes that should be where the media should focus. See below:

I find the above graph so fascinating. It's no surprise that non-townhome inventory dominates over TH figures, that will always be the case. However, sometime between 2018 ending and 2019 beginning, the two markets really began to operate quite differently. 

Today, townhome inventory is at unprecedented levels. Given that townhomes can only be constructed by tearing down lots of existing homes, it makes sense. The need for more housing has afforded buyers more options for townhomes than what existed years ago. On the other side, non-townhomes are becoming more scarce. There are only a finite amount of those and there's no undeveloped land remaining in King county. New construction will forever be extremely tilted in the direction of dense townhome or condo-ized construction over traditional single family homes. 

So when an article comes out suggesting the local housing market is crashing, question it. Are they telling the real story, or a general one? Don't get me wrong, I'm seeing condos selling or listed at prices less than what they were purchased for 10-20 years ago. I see townhomes priced at and selling for less than what they were bought for 5-7 years ago. Regardless of the season, I'm still seeing multiple offers. Everything is local and, just like it did before all the Covid craziness bled into the housing market, what and where you buy matters. Never forget the fundamentals!

Onto the stats

Seattle- The median sale price registered $1,010,000. That is down 6.5% YoY and down MoM from $1,037,500.Inventory was up just 2.7% YoY and the months of inventory was virtually flat at 2.42 months.

Eastside - The median sale price registered $1,560,000. That is down 3.1% YoY and up MoM from $1,510,000. Inventory is up 29.2% YoY and the months of inventory decreased to 3.5 months from 3.7.

King County - The median sale price registered $986,250. That is down 4.6% YoY and up MoM from $975,000. Inventory is up 16.4% YoY and the months of inventory was virtually flat at 2.8 months.

Rising inventory isn't the buyer's market everyone thinks it is. Though, depending on property type and location, it very well could be. For buyers currently in the market, enjoy. This is always the most favorable time of the year from a supply/demand side of things. But don't get too confident. In the next 90 days we'll start seeing inventory rapidly decline and we'll enter the new year, just like we always do, with low inventory and strong demand. Then it's back to multiple offers! 

Enjoy the summer! Onward!