The end of 2022 brought a traditional seasonal slowdown in the market with the volume of closed sales falling 42% from a year ago. The combination of the holidays, local weather, and economic news caused some potential buyers and sellers to sit on the sidelines.

The number of total active single family and condo listings grew to 12,500 by the end of December, about a 165% increase from the 4,621 active listings from this time last year. With rates decreasing over the past month - averaging around 6.48% - and increasing inventory, motivated buyers have a great opportunity to secure a home with little competition.

As we look forward to this new year, rates are expected to dial back further as inflation cools off. The National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts rates will settle around 5.7% by the end of 2023. Looking at home prices Yun expects there to be no noticeable change, with some slight decreases or increases depending on the area. CoreLogic, on the other hand, expects there to be sizable price declines of up to 12% in markets like Seattle that saw surging homes during the pandemic. As the market normalizes, it is hard to predict exactly what will happen.

What we do know is that there is never a "bad" time to buy or sell real estate. It all depends your needs!