Puget Sound Housing Market Update — Week of Sept 4, 2026

Is the Puget Sound housing market favoring buyers or sellers right now?

Right now, the data favors buyers. Homes are sitting on the market longer across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. Price cuts are more common. The absorption rate has cooled all year. However, sellers who price correctly are still finding success.

What is the absorption rate telling us this week?

The absorption rate measures how quickly homes are going under contract. This week, it fell 0.57% from last week. It’s also down 15.14% since January and down 11.49% compared to last year. In short, homes are moving slower than they were, and slower than they did a year ago. That gives buyers more room to negotiate.

How long are homes staying on the market?

Active listings are holding at 42 days on market, unchanged from last week. Pending listings are holding at 35 days, also unchanged. For context, active days on market peaked at 77 days in late January and February. Today’s 42 days is real improvement since winter. Still, homes are not selling as fast as they were during the spring rush.

Are price reductions increasing?

Yes. Price reductions rose 1.43% week-over-week and are up 6.28% compared to a year ago. That said, reductions are still down 3.77% from where they started the year. So while the year-to-date trend has improved, the recent direction is toward more, not fewer, price cuts. For sellers, that’s a signal to price realistically from day one rather than chasing the market down.

Which Puget Sound cities are hottest and coldest right now?

Mountlake Terrace is this week’s hottest market, followed by Lake Forest Park and North Bend. On the other end, Medina is the coldest, followed by Ashford and Snoqualmie Pass. These rankings are based on absorption rate. So “hottest” simply means homes are going under contract fastest there, not that prices are rising fastest.

What’s happening with mortgage rates?

The 30-year mortgage rate climbed to 6.89% this week, up 8 basis points from 6.81%. That’s the latest in a string of weekly increases, and it continues to price some buyers out of the market. Meanwhile, odds of a Fed rate hike at the September meeting sit at 51%, down from 59% last week. Friday’s inflation report will likely decide which way that goes.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties?

For buyers, this is one of the more favorable negotiating windows this year. Inventory is building. Price cuts are common. Homes are sitting longer. For sellers, the strategy is straightforward: price to today’s market, not to spring conditions. Present the home well from the first showing. Homes priced correctly are still going under contract every week.

According to Aaron Lawrenson, Managing Broker at Coldwell Banker Bain, serving the Greater Seattle area, the local job market also remains worth watching. Weekly unemployment claims across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties remain far below historical medians. However, eight new WARN layoff notices were filed statewide this week. Those notices affected 1,450 workers, including cuts at Amazon, Uber, and Qualtrics in the Seattle area.

Want the full data, charts, and macroeconomic breakdown behind these numbers? Reach out anytime, or ask about the numbers specific to your neighborhood.