What to Expect from Seattle Eastside Housing Market in 2021

What is Seattle’s Eastside area supposed to look like further into 2021?

While the real estate market in Seattle’s Eastside cooled down somewhat a couple of years ago, things picked up in 2020. Here’s a look ahead at housing market trends and forecasts for Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and other cities that make up the Eastside.

‘Eastside’ Housing Market Defined

Before we look at the latest real estate trends, we should define some geography. What is Seattle’s “Eastside,” exactly?

This is a common term for cities that fall within the Seattle metro area, but are located to the east of Lake Washington. Primarily, this includes the cities of Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah, Newcastle, and Mercer Island.

Inventory of Available Homes in 2021

The number of homes for sale is very tight right now in Seattle and the surrounding King County. More specifically, there is less than a 2-month supply of homes available for sale. Such a tight inventory is driving home prices up and is creating much more competition among homebuyers. And the situation is going to continue into 2021.

While housing market conditions can vary from one area to the next, all of these cities shared some things in common as of January 2021:

• On average, home prices in most Eastside markets are higher today than they were a year ago. From January 2020 to January 2021, house values soared 10.9%  throughout the Seattle metro area.
• Prices are expected to continue rising, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Bellevue and Sammamish are two of the most expensive real estate markets in the Eastside, and across the broader Seattle metro area. As of January 2021, the price in Seattle is $804,504, and the median home value in Bellevue is $1,056,617.

But Mercer Island tops them all, and is something of an anomaly. The median price in that real estate market was about $1,756,173 as of January 2021.

The median home values in Issaquah and Kirkland were $811,836 and $858,872, respectively, as of January 2021. That makes them comparable with Seattle itself, in terms of pricing.

As far as forecasts go, most housing reports and forecasts (at least those that we have read) suggest that the Eastside real estate market will be hot in 2021.

Today’s Seattle Mortgage Rates Jan, 16, Sat, 2021

Buyers Can Benefit From More Affordable Mortgages in 2021

Thanks to incredibly low mortgage rates these days, home buyers within the Eastside real estate market are able to obtain more affordable mortgages.

Mortgage rates have been on a steady decline since late 2018, and they continue to dip. In fact, interest rates have dipped to all-time lows just recently. Today, the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sits at 2.67%.

The bottom line is that it’s a different housing market today than in recent years. In 2021, Eastside home buyers could benefit from much lower mortgage interest rates today. But home prices have been on the rise since last year and will continue on an upward trajectory in 2021.

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Have Questions About Mortgages in Seattle?

If you are curious about mortgages in Seattle or are considering applying for one, we have the answers for you. Sammamish Mortgage is a local, family-owned company based in Bellevue, Washington. We have been serving the entire state since 1992, as well as the broader Pacific Northwest region and offer many mortgage programs for our clients. Please contact us if you have mortgage-related questions.