Seattle-Area Home Prices Soared More Than 20% Since Last Year: S&P

SEATTLE — In news that will not be surprising to anyone who has been in the market for a house in recent months, a new analysis found the Seattle area experienced some of the sharpest increases in home prices over the last year, landing among the top half of 20 major U.S. metros.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index analyzes real estate trends each month, and its latest report found that Puget Sound's soaring housing prices easily outpaced the national average by a comfortable margin.

This month's analysis measured changes between February 2021 and 2022, finding house prices around King, Pierce and Snohomish counties grew by 26.6 percent, with a 4.4 percent rise between January and February.

All major metros in the index's "20-City Composite" experienced double-digit price hikes, led by eye-popping surges in Phoenix, Tampa and Miami. Seattle landed the seventh spot on the list, with a bigger jump than many West Coast cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland.

Here are the top 10 metro areas for housing price increases (Feb. 2021 -2022):

1. Phoenix: +32.9%
2. Tampa: +32.6%
3. Miami: +29.7%
4. San Diego: +29.1%
5. Dallas: +28.8%
6. Las Vegas: +27.5%
7. Seattle: +26.6%
8. Charlotte: +25.5%
9. Atlanta: +24%
10. San Francisco: +22.9%

According to Bloomberg, the nearly 20 percent surge in prices nationally makes for the third-largest jump in 35 years, but there are some signals that some relief for buyers could be on the horizon.

"The macroeconomic environment is evolving rapidly and may not support extraordinary home price growth for much longer," said Craig Lazzara, the index's managing director. "The post-COVID resumption of general economic activity has stoked inflation, and the Federal Reserve has begun to increase interest rates in response. We may soon begin to see the impact of increasing mortgage rates on home prices."

>> Read the full report from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices here.