Seattle's housing market cool-down may be over already

This is a good time for buyers — before things heat up again.

A Redfin report shows pending home sales were up 15 percent in January, year over year.

It's a sign that more people are ready to buy homes in Seattle. In January, the number of pending sales increased for the first time since November 2017.

That's according to a report from real estate brokerage Redfin.

Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather says more sellers have dropped their prices, and as a result more homes are going off the market.

Fairweather says "now might actually be a good time to put in that offer on the home you've had your eye on, because that home might not be on the market in just a few days or weeks."

Pending sales reflect a snapshot in time, capturing how many people are currently preparing to purchase a home. Closed sales, by contrast, show how many sales were completed in a month after weeks of final steps in the transaction.

But analyst James Young is skeptical of how to interpret the increase in pending sales. Young directs real estate research at the University of Washington.

"I'm not sure that one month's data is going to tell you a whole bunch about turning points," says Young. He's waiting to see March and April's pending sales numbers.

But Young agrees that one piece of good news from the Redfin report is that buyers and sellers are agreeing on prices in Seattle. Bidding wars of recent years are happening less frequently in the start of 2019.

And it's not just Seattle. Seven counties in Washington had increases in pending home/condo sales in January compared with 12 months ago, including King and Snohomish.

Since fall 2018 Seattle's housing market has cooled down. More sellers started to drop their prices, and at the same time more houses came onto the market. Fairweather says it indicates a good time for buyers — before things heat up again.