🏠15-year high inventory, but prices won’t budge!?

🏠15-year high inventory, but prices won’t budge!?

Matt Goyer

August 5, 2026

4 min read

The "summer slowdown" is officially here, though many of our buyers are clearly not on vacation. It’s been a busy week: 

  • West Seattle: Struck out in a close second-place offer on a great property.
  • Madrona: Currently working with a buyer waiting to see if a new listing will be competitive, and if so, do they want to compete.
  • Olympic Manor: A client skipped the offer deadline on a classic "grandma house" only to find zero offers submitted despite all the initial buyer interest.

On a brighter note: We’re thrilled for our floating home on the 2031 dock in Eastlake, which just went pending with a fast close! It’s a good reminder: if you are paying cash and move fast, there’s still time to close on a waterfront or floating home and enjoy the rest of the summer on the lake.

Making Sense of the July Numbers

The July market data is officially in, and The Seattle Times sums it up as "wary home shoppers leaving the market in limbo."

Our take? Prices are remaining surprisingly high despite active inventory reaching 15-year highs and closed sales heading toward 20-year lows. It defies logic; buyers have more options than they've had in over a decade, yet pricing remains resilient.

Seattle Market Update: High Inventory Meets Stiff Prices!?

The Takeaway: Seattle’s median price continues to defy gravity even as active inventory hits a 15-year high and closed sales trend toward historic lows.

  • Median Price: $987,000 (Flat MoM; essentially identical to last year and not too far off the all-time high of $1,040,000)
  • Total Inventory: 1,641 active listings (Up ~30% YoY; highest inventory since 2011!)
  • New Listings: 1,016 (Up 22% YoY, down slightly from June)
  • Sales Volume: 504 closed homes (Down 13% YoY and 20% from June)
  • Months of Supply: 3.4 months (Highest level in 15 years!)

Note on Closings: While June turned out to be the peak month for closed volume this year, July’s numbers highlight a market giving buyers significantly more leverage.

Eastside Market Update: Buyer Opportunity Knocks

The Takeaway: Prices remain surprisingly resilient despite inventory surging to 15-year highs and supply levels shifting firmly into buyer's market territory.

  • Median Price: $1,750,000 (Up slightly MoM; up 3% YoY)
  • Total Inventory: 1,418 active listings (Up a massive 50% YoY and up from June; highest since 2011)
  • New Listings: 772 (Up ~37% YoY; down slightly from June)
  • Sales Volume: 334 closed homes (Down 12% YoY and down 40 sales from June)
  • Months of Supply: 4.9 months (Highest level in 15 years)

🏠 Homes We’re Selling

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🏠 Listings that caught our eye last week

📰 Must-read real estate news

Buyers seeing fewer new listings

Seattle: 290 new listings last week, down 13.17% w-o-w
Eastside: 207 new listings last week, down 28.13% w-o-w

Surprisingly, buyers are putting more under contract

Seattle: 181 pending last week, up 7.10% w-o-w
Eastside: 133 pending last week, up 15.65% w-o-w

đŸ”„ The hottest new listings

$4.3M Two-Story Penthouse in Downtown Seattle

$3.145M Downtown Retreat with Elliott Bay Views

$2.175M West Seattle Mid-Century Gem

$1.995M Westlake Home with Skyline and Lake Union Views

Check out last week’s market update, đŸ The Summer Slowdown is a Buyer’s Best Friend

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Urban Living is a boutique real estate brokerage helping clients in Seattle and on the Eastside buy and sell amazing homes. Urban Living started in 2006 as a blog about Seattle real estate with an emphasis on lofts, condos, new construction, and midcentury moderns. In 2018 we formed a brokerage so we could help readers buy and sell the amazing homes we featured. From Beacon Hill to Ballard (and beyond), from $200,000 to $5+ million, we'd love to help you.