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Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its September 2025 Market Snapshot.
Market Recap
Inventory is climbing, giving buyers more options, while home prices are showing signs of moderation after years of rapid growth. The median sales price in September dipped 0.7% year-over-year, from $635,000 to $630,700, and fell 3% month-over-month from August’s $650,000. Similar month-over-month declines were seen in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. Interest rates have declined slightly, but not enough to significantly impact the market.
“House prices in the NWMLS service area have generally been sluggish in response to high interest rates,” said Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington. “Initially, high interest rates discouraged both sellers and buyers, but in recent months, sellers have been listing properties at a faster rate than buyers have been purchasing them. To some extent, these changes may reflect typical seasonal fluctuations, but at some point the laws of supply and demand may prevail, and prices may lose some of their stickiness.”
September 2025 Key Takeaways
Active Listings
- There was a 27.3% increase in total number of properties listed for sale year-over-year, with 20,052 active listings on the market at the end of September 2025, compared to 15,748 at the end of September 2024. When compared to the previous month, active inventory decreased by 167 listings (-0.8%), down from 20,219in August 2025.
- The number of homes for sale year-over-year increased in most of NWMLS’s coverage area, with 23 out of 27 counties seeing a double-digit year-over-year increase. The six counties with highest year-over-year increases in active inventory for sale were Ferry (+61.5%), Thurston (+48.1%), Island (+45.7%), Snohomish (+41.7%), Walla Walla (+40.5%), and Columbia (+40%).
Closed Sales
- The number of closed sales increased by 5.9% year-over-year (6,170 in September 2025 compared to 5,828 in September 2024). When compared to the previous month, the number of closed sales decreased by 2.7%, down from 6,341 sales in August 2025.
- 19 out of 27 counties saw an increase in the number of closed sales year-over-year, while 5 saw a decrease, and 3 showed no change. The six counties with the largest increases were Lewis (+68.2%), Okanogan (+48.2%), Cowlitz (+46.8%), Island (+39.4%), Douglas (+27.3%), and Clallam (+24.4%). The total dollar value of closed sales in September 2025 for residential homes was $4,427,282,546 and was $477,418,943 for condominiums ($4,904,701,489 in total).
Median Sales Price and Total Dollar Value
- The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in September 2025 was $630,700 — a slight decrease of 0.7% when compared to September 2024 ($635,000). Compared to the previous month, the median price decreased by 3% ($650,000 in August 2025).
- The three counties with the highest median sale prices were San Juan ($1,050,000), King ($850,000), and Snohomish ($722,525), and the three counties with the lowest median sale prices were Columbia ($290,000), Pacific ($330,000), and Ferry ($335,000).
- The total dollar value of closed sales in September 2025 for residential homes was $4,427,282,546 and was $477,418,943 for condominiums ($4,904,701,489 in total).
“Seattle’s housing market is continuing to rebalance following large swings in prices and demand in the last few years,” said Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at Cotality. “Improved affordability is certainly helping attract home buyers – especially for mid-range and tech-enhanced homes, that are now facing less competition than in the years prior. Home prices are expected to move sideways and pick up again in early 2026 with the spring home buying market, though overall rate of appreciation will be slower as buyers’ incomes catch up and affordability remains the top concern.”
Consumer and Broker Activity
NWMLS also provided insights into consumer activities during the month of September 2025:
- Keyboxes located at listed properties were accessed 161,356 times in September 2025, a 2% decrease from August 2025 when they were accessed 164,711 times. Keybox activity increased year-over-year by 2.3%, with keyboxes being accessed 157,756 times in September 2024.
- The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software decreased 1.7% from 122,534 in August 2025 to 120,489 in September 2025. This was a year-over-year increase of 0.5% from the number of showings in September 2024 (119,900).
- In September 2025, there were 20,979 listed properties that were eligible for the Down Payment Resource program offered by NWMLS, a 5.3% decrease from 22,163 in August 2025. This was a 25.7% year-over-year increase from 16,688 eligible listings in September 2024. 72.9% of listings in the NWMLS database were eligible for down payment program assistance.
