The word on the streets is that as soon as the Seattle head tax was announced things got weird for home sales. I know some buyers have put a pause on their home-search – for fear of being laid off, for fear of not receiving an expected bonus that was to go towards the downpayment, how will Amazon react?
Sellers too have been cautious, canceling listing dates for fear of the market slowing down.
Has the market slowed down? I mentioned ‘buyer fatigue’ in my last post and I am hearing that more and more from local agents who represent buyers. That, combined with the head-tax fears, I think we are in a unique situation here that is slowing down the usual May real estate rush. Just as I have three more listings coming on! Argh.
Have to plan for the strategy. If the buyer pool is smaller, as the seller you have to be the best perceived value on the market to get those offers rolling in. Before you list, ask – what is your immediate competition?
That said, perhaps temporary and won’t have a longer term effect on our market: “One area that won’t see much change, Gardner says, is Seattle’s white-hot for-sale housing market. Seattle’s housing market has been the hottest in the nation for 18 months straight, and it is likely to stay that way whether Amazon freezes its Seattle expansion or not. There remains very few available homes for sale, and zoning codes restricting the amount of new housing that can be built aren’t going anywhere.” Positive thoughts from After the tax: What if Amazon puts the breaks on its Seattle Growth.
There is already a group collecting signatures in efforts to repeal the head tax. The tax would take effect in January 2019. Until then anything can happen and there is sure to be some unrest in the real estate market.
Always something… whether you support the tax or think it’s a terrible idea, life in home sales goes on… just make sure you have the proper strategy for the current market.