King County housing: buyers are squeezed

Chetanya Robinson

Chetanya Robinson Jun 28, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>King County housing: buyers are squeezed</h1>
                <h2><p>It's looking tough for would-be home buyers in King County. Compared to last year, the number of homes up for sale in King County is down 32 percent, while prices are up 22 percent, according to statistical information compiled for February by the real estate group Northwest Multiple</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/chetanyarobinson-gmail-com/">Chetanya Robinson</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>It's looking tough for would-be home buyers in King County. Compared to last year, the number of homes up for sale in King County is down 32 percent, while prices are up 22 percent, according to statistical information compiled for February by the real estate group Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS).</p><p>It’s a seller’s market, and Frank Wilson, previous chair of the Northwest MLS board, suggests prospective home buyers be prepared to pay more than list price. According to the MLS, a "balanced" housing market is one with four to six months of supply for sale. In the Puget Sound region as a whole, there’s about two months or less of supply, and King County is in worse shape with 1.3 months of supply.</p><p>All this has pushed prospective home buyers to find alternatives, including buying condos or moving west into Kitsap County, which saw pending sales increase 9 percent from a year ago.</p>
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It's looking tough for would-be home buyers in King County. Compared to last year, the number of homes up for sale in King County is down 32 percent, while prices are up 22 percent, according to statistical information compiled for February by the real estate group Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

It’s a seller’s market, and Frank Wilson, previous chair of the Northwest MLS board, suggests prospective home buyers be prepared to pay more than list price. According to the MLS, a "balanced" housing market is one with four to six months of supply for sale. In the Puget Sound region as a whole, there’s about two months or less of supply, and King County is in worse shape with 1.3 months of supply.

All this has pushed prospective home buyers to find alternatives, including buying condos or moving west into Kitsap County, which saw pending sales increase 9 percent from a year ago.

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By Chetanya Robinson

Chetanya Robinson is a former intern with Crosscut. He was born and raised in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington in fall 2016. He enjoys reporting on an eclectic range of topics,