Market Insights: January 2023

January 2023 in Stanwood and Camano Island ended on an encouraging note with pending sales reaching the highest level since September and surging nearly 26% above December.
New Listings: Camano Island had 20 new listings hit the market in January. Stanwood had 15 new listings compared to 21 last January. Overall, 35 new listings were added to our market, compared to 45 last January. However, January’s volume of new listings blew past December’s total of 26. Currently, there are 93 active listings in our two zip codes.

Pending Sales: Stanwood and Camano Island saw 10% fewer pending sales compared to last year, but a much higher volume compared to the past 5 months.

Homes Sold: There were 28 homes sold in zip codes 98282 and 98292 in January. 18 sales on Camano and 10 sales in Stanwood. The average YTD sales price on these 28 homes was down by 12% from last January. We expect this to stabilize as the year progresses.

SELLERS – National Association of Realtors® chief economist Lawrence Yun suggested the “recent low point in home sales activity is likely over. Mortgage rates are the dominant factor driving home sales and recent declines in rates are clearly helping to stabilize the market.”

BUYERS – We may not see the “churning of inventory” this year as we have seen in the past as Spring approaches. Sellers who refinanced during the pandemic at an interest rate in the 2-3% range, may not be eager to sell and give that rate up. There will still be listings hit the market, so when you find your dream home, be ready to make a strong offer.