From the NWMLS:
Inventory Climbs Nearly 20% as Washington Homebuyers Gain More Choices
Published on: August 4, 2026
Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) today released its July 2026 Market Snapshot, providing the latest residential real estate data and market trends from across its Washington service area.
Market Recap
Inventory expanded across the NWMLS service area in July, providing buyers with more options than one year ago.
Active listings increased 19.8% year-over-year, reaching 24,888 homes on the market. Sellers added 11,517 new listings during the month, a 10.5% increase from July 2025. Twenty-five of the twenty-seven counties in the NWMLS service area experienced year-over-year inventory growth, continuing the market’s gradual shift toward more balanced conditions.
Higher mortgage rates continued to influence buyer activity during July. Compared to July 2025, closed sales decreased 3.2%, pending sales declined 7.2%, and the median sales price decreased 1.5% to $640,000.
Consumer and broker activity reflected continued interest as buyers explored the expanding selection of available homes. Keybox activity and scheduled showings were lower than one year ago, while 26,826 listings received at least one showing, a 10.8% year-over-year increase. Additionally, 74.1% of listings in the NWMLS database qualified for down payment assistance programs.
“In July, the housing market in the NWMLS service area continued to display greater interest on the part of sellers, with active inventory increasing nearly 20% year over year. However, this has not been matched by an increase in transactions with both numbers of sales and median prices dropping relative to a year earlier, by 3% and 1.5%, respectively,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER). “Interest rates, which averaged over 6.5% during the month (slightly higher than the previous month), continued to discourage buyers. The Federal Reserve Bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept short-term interest rates unchanged when they met late in the month due to the ongoing pressures of high inflation stemming from the continuing war with Iran. Expectations are that the FOMC will increase short-term rates later this year and early next year, implying that longer-term rates are also likely to go up.”
July 2026 Key Takeaways
Active Listings
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The total number of properties listed for sale increased 19.8% year-over-year, with 24,888 active listings on the market at the end of July 2026, compared to 20,781 at the end of July 2025.
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The five counties with the largest year-over-year inventory increases were Okanogan (+48.0%), Snohomish (+34.7%), Walla Walla (+28.1%), Thurston (+27.5%), and King (+23.7%).
Sales Activity and Total Dollar Value
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Closed sales decreased 3.2% year-over-year, with 6,649 transactions completed in July 2026, compared to 6,867 in July 2025.
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The total dollar value of closed sales in July 2026 was $4.90 billion for residential homes and $463.6 million for condominiums, for a combined total of $5.36 billion.
Median Sales Price
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The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in July 2026 was $640,000, a 1.5% decrease from July 2025 ($650,000).
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The counties with the highest median sales prices were San Juan ($880,000), King ($879,500), and Snohomish ($719,000), while the lowest median prices were recorded in Ferry ($199,900), Columbia ($240,000), and Okanogan ($321,500).
Consumer and Broker Activity
NWMLS also tracked several indicators of consumer and broker engagement in July as inventory continued to expand across the market.
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Keyboxes at listed properties were accessed 166,504 times in July 2026, 1.4% lower than July 2025.
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The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software was 120,963 in July 2026, 4.2% lower than July 2025.
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A total of 26,826 listings received at least one showing during July, an
increase of 10.8% compared to one year ago, indicating buyers continued touring a wider variety of available homes.
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A total of 25,553 listings were eligible for the NWMLS Down Payment Resource program in July 2026, 17.8% higher than July 2025. Overall, 74.1% of listings in the NWMLS database qualified for down payment assistance programs. (This count includes all property types in the NWMLS database, including multifamily properties and manufactured homes in parks.)
