Seattle Real Estate: Numbers You Need to Know Now

In today’s economy, understanding the latest numbers can give us valuable insights into where things are headed. Here are three key figures from the latest jobs report and their implications for the market.

The numbers and commentary below come directly from Windermere’s Principal Economist Jeff Tucker’s recent video that you can watch here.

254,000 
That’s the number of net jobs added in September, according to the latest jobs report released on Friday, October 4th. This is a strong report, far exceeding the expected 145,000 jobs forecasted. Additionally, payroll counts for July and August were revised upward by 72,000 jobs combined. Altogether, this makes September the best month for job gains since March of this year, bucking the trend of a cooling labor market seen over the summer months.

4.1% 
This is the unemployment rate for September, down slightly from 4.2% in August and 4.3% in July. The combination of falling unemployment and rebounding job growth points to an economy that’s in much better shape than it was over the summer. In other words, concerns about a looming recession are easing, which leads us to our final number…

6.5%
This is the latest 30-year mortgage rate, which jumped by about a quarter point following the strong jobs report on Friday, October 4th. While this was a significant one-day increase, it’s important to put it in context. Rates are still roughly where they were in August, and they remain down almost a full percentage point from their levels in April and May of this year. Compared to this time last year, mortgage rates have dropped by more than a point. However, this is a reminder that rate cuts won’t follow a smooth, predictable pattern—instead, we should expect more of a “zigzag” when it comes to mortgage rates.

Any questions? Feel free to contact me anytime with your real estate questions and needs.