NWMLS July Market Report: Washington Homebuyers Gain More Choices

Information and statistics compiled and reported by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, released its July 2026 Market Snapshot on August 4.

Regional 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 for King and Kittitas Counties

Active Listings

• 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%).
• The total number of properties listed for sale in King County increased from 6,337 active listings in July 2025 to 7,836 in July 2026. Month over month, active inventory increased 5.8%, up from 7,405 in June 2026.
• Kittitas County's active listings increased 16.1% year over year—up from 441 in July 2025 to 512 in July 2026. The month-to-month increase was only 2.4% from 500 active listings in June 2026 to 512 in July 2026.