The short version
Snohomish County inventory jumped 51.8% year over year in March 2026, one of the biggest increases in Washington. But Snohomish still has only 2.04 months of supply, second tightest in the state. Well-priced homes are still selling in days with multiple offers. A balanced market is 4 to 6 months. We are not there yet.
I put a listing active on Monday. By this week it already had multiple offers on the table and is going over asking.
That is the market I am seeing, not the one the national headlines are describing. If you have been waiting for things to cool off before you make a move, I want to gently tell you what I tell my clients: the window you are waiting for is not the one that is opening.
What the Snohomish and King County data actually says
Snohomish County active listings jumped 51.8% year over year in March 2026, one of the biggest increases anywhere in Washington state. On paper, that sounds like a buyer market is forming.
It isn't, not yet. We are still sitting at 2.04 months of inventory in Snohomish, the second tightest market in Washington. A balanced market is 4 to 6 months. We are nowhere near balanced.
What actually happened is this: mortgage rates stuck above 6.5% have slowed the buying side of the equation. Homes linger a bit longer on the market than they did last spring. Average days on market in Snohomish County ticked up from 7 in March 2025 to 10 in March 2026. A small shift, but real.
Meanwhile, the selling side has not caught up. There still are not enough well-priced, well-staged homes for the buyers who are active. So when a good one comes along, it moves fast.
Snohomish County median sales price (March 2026): $738,000
King County median sales price (March 2026): $859,618
Snohomish months of inventory: 2.04
Snohomish inventory growth YoY: +51.8%
Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service monthly market snapshot, March 2026.
The two things that still matter: price and presentation
Price and presentation. That is it. Priced right and staged well, homes in Snohomish and King Counties are still selling in days with multiple offers. Priced wrong, they sit and eventually get marked down.
This is not theoretical. I had this exact scenario play out in Arlington recently. The seller wanted to list at $630,000. I recommended $625,000. They went with $630,000. We got no action. Dropped to $625,000 and it sold almost immediately. A $5,000 swing was the difference between sitting for weeks and getting an offer in days.
Buyers are doing their homework right now. They have Zillow, Redfin, the MLS, and their own spreadsheets. They know what something is worth. The old playbook of “list it $10,000 over and see what happens” is how you sit for 45 days and take a price cut. The new playbook is: price it right, stage it well, go to market in confidence.
Featured listing: 1406 Potlatch Beach Road, Tulalip
My current featured listing is a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom high-bank waterfront at $950,000. West-facing lot, 1,662 square feet of livable space on a third of an acre, built in 1925 with good bones and a deck that faces the sunset. MLS #2504310.
The view is the whole thing. The sunset photo at the top of this post was taken on a phone from the property deck. Not a drone. Not staging. Just Tuesday evening.
For context, comparable Seattle waterfront on Puget Sound typically starts at $3 million. This is the same Sound, the same sunsets, at roughly a third of the price. If you have been priced out of Seattle waterfront, this is the listing to look at.
Open house Saturday: 1914 122nd Place SE, Everett
Saturday, April 25, from 1 to 3 PM. Single-family home in Everett, 3 bed, 2 bath, 1,944 square feet, on a 10,000 square foot lot. One block from Silver Lake. Listed at $750,000. Built in 1969 with good bones and a recently updated kitchen. MLS #2509462.
Walk the block before you tour. You will feel the neighborhood faster that way. Coffee will be on.
See the Zillow listing or text Kim at 425-250-9422 with questions.
Local pick: J&L Barbecue, Snohomish County
If you are touring the open house Saturday and need a post-walkthrough meal, J&L Barbecue does real Texas-style smoked meats out of three locations in Snohomish, Everett, and Monroe. Pulled pork, brisket, tri tip, pork ribs. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so Saturday is the move.
If you are on the fence
If you have been thinking about selling, you have not missed the window. You have just entered a market that rewards being prepared. Pricing strategy, staging, and presentation matter more right now than they have in years.
If you have been thinking about buying, there is more inventory on the market in Snohomish County than there has been in a long time. More options. More room to negotiate. Still competitive on the good ones, but you have more choices than you did six months ago.
Either way, the move is to talk through your specific situation, not to react to a headline. Text or call me and I will give you a real read on your neighborhood. No pressure and no pitch.