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Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its January 2026 Market Snapshot.
Market Recap
January housing market data shows a continuation of recent trends, with growing inventory outpacing buyer demand across much of Washington state. Active listings increased nearly 21% year over year, while closed sales declined 7% and median prices fell 3%.
“Substantial year-over-year growth in active listings continues to be accompanied by much slower, even negative growth in sales and median prices,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington.
Compared to December, inventory rose nearly 6% in January, while closed sales dropped 31% and median prices declined about 3%. The data suggests more homeowners are willing to sell, while affordability constraints continue to limit buyer participation.
Consumer and broker activity rebounded strongly from December, signaling early momentum as the market begins to transition toward the spring selling season. Mortgage interest rates also continued a gradual downward trend, ending January at 6.10%, compared to 6.15% at the end of December. Rates have reached similarly low levels only twice since the run-up in 2022—briefly in February 2023 and again in September 2024—when rates dipped temporarily before rising again. This time could be different, as the rate decline has continued over a longer period, suggesting that it might be more sustainable.
January 2026 Key Takeaways
Active Listings
- The total number of properties listed for sale increased 20.9% year over year, with 12,376 active listings on the market at the end of January 2026, compared to 10,241 at the end of January 2025. Month over month, active inventory increased by 5.6%, up from 11,718 in December 2025.
- Nearly all NWMLS counties experienced year-over-year inventory growth, with 16 of 27 counties posting double-digit increases. The counties with the largest increases were Jefferson (+59.5%), Walla Walla (+58.6%), Thurston (+50.8%), Okanogan (+36.4%), Adams (+36.4%), and Clallam (+35.3%).
Closed Sales
- Closed sales decreased 7% year over year, with 3,465 transactions in January 2026 compared to 3,727 in January 2025. Month over month, sales decreased 30.8% from 5,010 in December 2025.
- Year-over-year closed sales decreased in 16 of 27 counties, while ten counties saw increases and one county (Ferry) reported no change.
Median Sales Price and Total Dollar Value
- The median sales price for residential homes and condominiums sold in January 2026 was $595,000, down 3.25% from January 2025 ($615,000). Month over month, the median price declined 2.8% from $612,250 in December 2025.
- The counties with the highest median sales prices were San Juan ($969,000), King ($770,000), and Snohomish ($678,500), while the lowest median prices were recorded in Columbia ($265,000), Okanogan ($330,000), and Grant ($339,900).
- The total dollar value of closed sales in January 2026 was $2.26 billion for residential homes and $290.2 million for condominiums, for a combined total of $2.55 billion.
Consumer and Broker Activity
NWMLS also tracked several indicators of consumer and broker engagement in January, suggesting renewed buyer and broker activity following the typical year-end slowdown.
- Keyboxes at listed properties were accessed 115,685 times in January 2026, a 0.2% decrease from January 2025. Month over month, keybox activity increased 38% from 83,845 accesses in December 2025.
- The total number of property showings scheduled through NWMLS-provided software decreased 1.8% year-over-year, from 99,979 showings in January 2025 to 98,210 in January 2026. Month over month, showings surged 58.2% from 62,096 in December 2025.
- A total of 15,007 listings were eligible for the NWMLS Down Payment Resource program in January 2026, a 17.4% increase from January 2025. Overall, 77.3% of listings in the NWMLS database qualified for down payment assistance. (This count includes all property types in the NWMLS database, including multifamily properties and manufactured homes in parks.)
