Windermere Blog | Category: Market News

January 11, 2017

First Time Buyers, Millennials, and What to Expect in 2017

Posted in Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

Why don’t we have enough first-time buyers in the market? With Baby Boomers working and living longer, we aren’t making much room for Millennials to start their careers. Plus, the major debt that the younger generation owes on student loans ($1.3 trillion today) hugely impacts the housing market. But the bigger issue is lack of down payments. Before the recession, many Millennials...
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December 29, 2016

What’s In Store For The 2017 Seattle Housing Market?

Posted in Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

2016 was another stellar year for the Seattle housing market, in which a surplus of buyers and a deficit of sellers drove home prices higher across the board. So, can we expect to see more of the same in 2017? Here are some of my thoughts on the Seattle/King County housing market for the coming year:
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December 16, 2016

It’s Complicated: What’s Stopping Millennials from Entering the Housing Market?

Posted in Economics 101 Videos and Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

More than thirty five percent of the 75.5 million Millennials in the United States still live at home, with their parents. So what is keeping them from making the move to a home of their own? According to Windermere’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, it’s a unique combination of personal and financial factors.
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November 23, 2016

What to Expect in Housing Affordability

Posted in Economics 101 Videos and Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

What keeps Windermere’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, up at night? Housing affordability. See what he has to say about how West Coast cities can improve housing affordability through policy and infrastructure changes.
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November 09, 2016

The Trump effect. How will it impact the US economy and housing?

Posted in Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

The election was a shock for many, especially on the West Coast where we have not been overly affected by the long-term loss in US manufacturing or stagnant wage growth of the past decade. But the votes are in and a new era is ahead of us. So, what does this mean for the housing market?
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November 07, 2016

Oregon and South West Washington Real Estate Market Update

Posted in Market News and Oregon and Southwest Washington Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

The labor market in Oregon/Southwest Washington continues to remain robust. During third quarter, the region added 13,800 new jobs, up from the 9,500 jobs that were created in the same period in 2015. Year-over-year, the region has grown at an impressive rate of 3.5%—well above the U.S. rate of 1.7%—and has one of the fastest rates of job creation in the nation.
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November 01, 2016

Nevada Real Estate Market Update

Posted in Market News and Nevada Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

Home prices are increasing at a reasonable pace but there are some sub-markets that are over-performing at the present time. This is not a concern, as I think buyers will start to be more selective regarding the neighborhoods that they want to move to. This process will allow some markets to appreciate at levels higher than the regional averages.
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October 31, 2016

Southern California Real Estate Market Update

Posted in Market News and Southern California Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

Over the past 12 months (through August 2016), the markets covered by this report added 273,200 new jobs and the total number of people claiming unemployment insurance dropped by over 100,000. With these shifts toward full employment, the area’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.2% to 5.1% during the past year.
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October 27, 2016

Western Washington Real Estate Market Update

Posted in Market News and Western Washington Real Estate Market Update by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

Annual employment growth in Washington State slowed somewhat in the third quarter of this year, but still remains well above the long-term average. Additionally, the jobs that are being created are primarily quality, high-paying positions, which is important for the health of our economy.
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September 08, 2016

Do You Have ‘Average’ Credit? If so, Getting a Mortgage May Be Tough

Posted in Inman News and Market News by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

Today, lenders require nothing short of pristine credit to obtain a mortgage. We can never return to the reckless lending policies of the past, but I believe they’ve gone too far, and it concerns me.
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