by Calculated Risk on 7/07/2021 05:27:00 PM

Remember - sales slumped in April and May 2020, and were still soft in June 2002, so the year-over-year sales comparisons have been huge.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Market offers hope for homebuyers, but Northwest MLS brokers say it may be temporary

Homebuyers may find some good news in the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The number of active listings at the end of June, 6,358, reached the highest level since November when buyers could choose from 6,505 properties. The volume of new listings added last month was the highest number in 17 months (13,111 last month versus 14,689 at the end of November 2019).

"Homebuyers will be happy to hear that between May and June the number of listings in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties rose, giving them more homes to choose from and possibly easing the pressure just a little," remarked Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate.

For the tri-county area, total active listings of single family homes and condominiums increased 14.5% from May. System-wide, the report covering all 26 counties served by Northwest MLS shows month-to-month inventory improved 14.9%.
...
The latest report from Northwest MLS shows a year-over-year (YOY) drop in active listings of more than 34%, with only about two weeks (0.58 months) of supply available areawide. Last month marked the first time since July 2020 that the year-over-year decline fell below 40%.
...
Brokers reported 10,923 completed transactions during June, a 31.4% increase from twelve months ago, and up 16.5% from May's total of 9,374. Prices on last month's sales, which includes single family homes and condominiums, rose nearly 27% from a year ago, from $465,000 to $589,000.
emphasis added

The press release is for the Northwest MLS area. There were 10,923 closed sales in June 2021, up 31.4% from 8,312 sales in June 2020.  Active inventory for the Northwest is down 34.3%.

In King County, sales were up 45.6% year-over-year, and active inventory was down 35.0% year-over-year.

In Seattle, sales were up 58.3% year-over-year, and inventory was down 14.9% year-over-year. (inventory in Seattle was extremely low before the pandemic).  This puts the months-of-supply in Seattle at just 0.86 months.