The Seattle Times highlights the fact that there are fewer sellers in the Seattle Market than last year:

According to May statistics released yesterday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the number of available King County houses and condominiums was off by 31 percent compared with a year ago.

The reason?
I’d tend to agree with Judy Hay’s assessment from the article that:

The lack of inventory is at least partially the result of a shift in homeowners’ thinking. A year and a half ago, she says, they were trading homes simply because they wanted something else. Not now.

Unless there is some reason to move, they’re not doing it. They’ve refinanced and they’re saying, ‘Let’s remodel and stay where we’re at.’

The lack of sellers is all the more surprising considering the median home price in Seattle has risen 17% in the past year.

It seems to me that trying to time the market (whether real estate or stocks) is a game that should be left to the professionals! However, it is just common sense that Seattle home owners even remotely considering selling their home should talk to a real estate agent to find out how much their home would probably fetch on the open market. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to provide a free home valuation report.