Marguerite Martin Interviewed on KOMO News About the Tacoma Housing Market
Tacoma real estate agent Marguerite Martin joined host Steve Soliz and KOMO News for a town hall discussing the Western Washington housing market. Marguerite was on hand to discuss how the Tacoma real estate market is shaping up as we move into 2027. Arielle Albinger was also present representing the King County real estate agent perspective.
Steve wanted to have a discussion on behalf of homeowners and aspiring homebuyers in the area. In the Puget Sound region nventory is up, sales are down, prices have softened slightly, and experts are not yet agreeing on what it might mean for the 2027 housing market.
The answer Marguerite and Arielle kept returning to, to the visible amusement of their host, was “it depends.” That’s an unsatisfying headline. It’s also the truth, and the useful part is what it depends on. Thanks to the time allotted (almost an hour!) is was a more nuanced and varied discussion than can usually be contained in a headline or a quick newscast. You can watch the full exchange here:
The real estate stats KOMO opened with:
Recent Northwest MLS data for the larger Seattle-Tacoma area:
- New listings up about 10.5% year over year
- Pending sales down more than 7%
- Closed sales down more than 3%
- Prices across the region down about 1.5%
More inventory, fewer sales, slightly softer prices. The market in the region is balancing for the first time in over a decade. Homes are now taking somewhere between one and four months to sell instead of going pending over a weekend, and buyers finally get to think before they write.
Marguerite’s position is that when we are talking about whether or not these stats are “good news” or “bad news” it matters a great deal who we’re talking to. The stats vary wildly by local neighborhood. In Tacoma, some neighborhoods and price points still have multiple offers (good news for sellers!) while others have longer times on market (more opportunities for buyers). This is why hiring a local expert for your purchase or sale is VERY important in a shifting real estate market.
The Pierce County median home price, and who can actually buy
The median home price in Pierce County is around $550,000. Here is the median price over the past 5 years:
The challenge that they discussed is that in most of the country median income earners cannot afford median priced homes.
Median household income in Pierce County is roughly $75,000.
That gap is where MovetoTacoma.com creator Marguerite Martin spent some of the most pointed minutes of the town hall. “If you earn a median income,” she said, “you probably cannot afford a median priced home, and that’s true in Pierce County, in King County, and across most of the country.”
As Marguerite points out in the interview, roughly 65% of Americans cannot buy a house at all. She was clear in the discussion that this isn’t a personal failing. It’s structural, and it splits the market into at least two markets that don’t have a lot in common. On one side is the buyer preapproved to $425,000 with an FHA loan, no down payment, and closing costs scraped together. On the other is the relocating buyer selling a home in another state and arriving with 30, 40, 50% down or paying cash outright. Martin described it as a K-shaped economy, and real estate as the place where the shape is easiest to see. You can read more about this in Marguerite’s interview with Nate Bowling on the Nerd Farmer Podcast Episode, “The K Shaped Economy and Housing in Tacoma, WA” that was recorded last month.
Is it a buyer’s market in Tacoma as we head into 2027?
Generally yes, Tacoma’s balancing housing market is starting to favor buyers. Here are the average days on market for homes on the market in Pierce County:
You can see they have been increasing and are currently at about 44 days on the market. This varies quite a bit depending on the price point and neighborhood- but the broader trend is that it is taking a bit longer for sellers to get a good offer.
On Komo, Agent Arielle Albinger made the case that buyers can finally breathe. Contingencies are back. Inspections can be performed and considered rather than waived in a panic. And the money side has opened up: with rates hovering just under 7%, buyers now have room to ask sellers for a credit toward a permanent rate buydown, which often does more for a monthly payment than shaving the purchase price. Her advice was to get preapproved in order to learn what you can carry monthly, not simply what price a lender will approve.
Marguerite added that a well presented, correctly priced house in a neighborhood everybody wants is still going to command attention and can still draw multiple offers. Fewer than in 2021, but a balanced market is not an invitation to lowball the best house in the best pocket of the city.
What sellers in Tacoma need to do differently now
Neither agent would accept the framing that listing agents suddenly have to work for the first time. The work changed, it didn’t appear. In 2021, a seller in rough shape got bailed out by twelve competing buyers, and a listing agent’s problem was air traffic controlling dozens of offers. That era is over.
Marguerite’s recommendations to sellers in Tacoma as we head into 2027:
Preparation is not optional. In this market that usually means new flooring and fresh paint at a minimum, which depending on the situation can run about $10,000 even on a small house. And of course this is before anyone scopes the sewer, cleans out the crawl space, or deals with pests. This was true even when the market was hot- but it’s become essential as the market balances.
Get a pre-inspection. Albinger called it one of the most valuable things a seller can do right now, because this gives the seller the opportunity to fix any issues. A listing that returns to active after a failed inspection carries a smell that every subsequent buyer notices.
Stage it. Buyers have been watching HGTV for twenty five years and they want the fantasy of a clean, spare, spacious house. Marguerite’s point was that today’s buyers are two working adults with jobs and often children, without the time or the trade skills their parents had, and they are not going to redo your flooring on a Saturday. The house where the basics are done moves faster.
Do not hire the agent who quotes the biggest number. The industry calls this buying a listing, and Martin was blunt that it’s a prospecting strategy for a certain kind of agent, who then waits around while the seller comes to terms with reality and the listing goes stale. Interview a few people. Ask what they have actually sold in your specific neighborhood, how long their listings take, and what their photography, video, and marketing plan really look like.
On starter homes and predicting the housing market in unprecedented times
The median first time buyer is now in their forties and putting a greater share of their monthly income towards housing. The parents of these millennial and genz buyers had an average age of 29 when they bought their first homes.
Marguerite was skeptical of the inherited playbook. The boomer path of buying a first house at 21, trading up repeatedly, and riding the most prosperous stretch in American history worked beautifully for the people it worked for, but it’s difficult to make the case that buyers who climb onto the housing ladder at 40 in times dominated by completely different economic forces will experience the same path over the coming decades. Whether the same stepping stone logic still applies is, in her framing, an open question, and anyone speaking with total confidence about what comes next should be taken with a grain of salt.
Marguerite’s recommendation to Tacoma homebuyers in 2027
Talk to a lender far earlier than feels necessary. A year out is not too early. Most lenders lost their refinance business when rates rose, which means they have time and want the conversation, and they will tell you the specific things to fix so that you’re in position five months from now. Doing that homework early is the difference between being ready and being disappointed.
Then find an agent with genuine expertise in the specific neighborhood in question. Not a brother in law, not a perfectly capable agent who has never sold a house in that community. Martin is licensed statewide and knows the contracts, and still says she has no business listing a house in a town she’s never set foot in or spends very little time in.
Matching relocating buyers with agents who actually specialize in the neighborhood they’re moving to is the core of what Marguerite Martin does through MoveToTacoma.com.
The full housing market town hall is available on the KOMO News YouTube channel and at komonews.com.
What is Move to Tacoma?
Move to Tacoma is a podcast, neighborhood guide, and blog about Tacoma, Washington created by Tacoma Real Estate Agent Marguerite Martin. Marguerite is Tacoma real estate agent, blogger, and podcaster who has been selling houses in Tacoma since 2005.
In 2015 she created MovetoTacoma.com to help people learn more about Tacoma neighborhoods and what it’s really like living in Tacoma. She is the interviewer on the Move to Tacoma Podcast and the host on the Move to Tacoma Youtube Channel. In 2016 she was awarded the the Popham Award by the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. The Popham Award honors the individual in the City of Tacoma that has done the most to build community spirit.
Looking for a real estate agent? Marguerite is a matchmaker. Contact her for an introduction to the best real estate agents in Tacoma and beyond.
How Move to Tacoma Works
Here at Move to Tacoma we’ve been helping people find their place (and their real estate agent) in Tacoma for over a decade. We recommend choosing a local agent that lives and works in Tacoma and knows all the nuances of pricing, neighborhoods, and the condition (and quirks!) of these historic homes.
Here at MovetoTacoma.com we help people find their place in the City of Destiny. If you or a friend are looking to buy a home in Tacoma and would like help learning about Tacoma neighborhoods and finding a real estate agent please reach out to us! You can click the contact form on MovetoTacoma.com. You can also schedule a one-on-one with Marguerite on zoom by clicking here.
Step 1: Explore the Clickable Neighborhood Map of Tacoma
Our clickable neighborhood map of Tacoma’s neighborhoods is our pride and joy. Click through to find images and videos of each neighborhood. The Neighborhood guides on the map also include median home price information, blog posts about the neighborhoods, podcast episodes about the neighborhoods, and candid quotes from local neighbors.
Step 2: Listen to the Move to Tacoma Podcast
The best way to learn about Tacoma is to hear from the people who live here. On the Move to Tacoma Podcast Marguerite interviews Tacomans who’ve been here generations and Tacomans who just got here. From business and technology leaders to politicians and activists and everyone in between. The Move to Tacoma Podcast will give you insight into why people move here and how they find meaning and happiness in Tacoma.
Step 3: Read the Blog Posts on MovetoTacoma.com
On the Move to Tacoma Blog we have been writing about things to do in Tacoma, where to eat in Tacoma, hot button community topics, neighborhoods and more since 2015. There are hundreds of posts to help you find what you love in the City of Destiny. From posts about where to eat and drink to interviews with locals- the blog is a great place to keep up one what’s happening in Tacoma and Pierce County.
Step 4: Get Realtor Referral from a Local Realtor
Marguerite Martin is a different kind of Tacoma real estate agent. Reach out to find out answers to questions you have about neighborhoods in Tacoma and Pierce County. When the time is right to start looking, Marguerite can connect you with a local real estate agent who specializes in the neighborhoods you love most. You can see reviews from past clients who’ve worked with Marguerite on Yelp and on Google.
