Dana Charter, Black Knight Real Estate

09/19/2026

Mortgage rates are back around 7%.

Obviously that matters.

But there is more going on than just the interest rate.

Buyers have more homes to choose from right now, but those higher rates are making the monthly payment harder to swallow. Some buyers are lowering their price range. Some are sitting on the sidelines completely.

That affects sellers too.

More homes for sale plus fewer active buyers means more competition.

Yeah, price is important. You have to price where the market is going, and not where it is.

But every house is different.

Condition matters. Location matters. The HOA matters. The layout matters. And most importantly, what else a buyer can purchase for the same money matters.

I put together a new market update breaking down what the rate move means and what I'm seeing on both sides of 0the transaction.

https://www.danacharter.com/market-updates/mortgage-rates-back-around-seven-percent/

09/14/2026

Buyers have more choices right now, but that doesn’t mean buying has gotten easy.

August existing-home sales were down 2.0%, while inventory climbed to a 4.9-month supply, the highest in more than ten years. More inventory gives buyers additional options and room to negotiate. For sellers, it means more competition for a smaller pool of buyers who can make today’s monthly payments work.

In the right situation, owner financing may give both sides another option. A buyer may be able to get better terms, while the seller may reach buyers who couldn’t make traditional financing work.

It won’t fit every transaction, but it could be a win for both sides.

Read my full market update here:

https://www.danacharter.com/market-updates/buyers-have-more-choices-sellers-have-more-competition/

09/12/2026

Something new with my Issaquah listing.

The seller is now offering **seller financing** as an option.

It’s listed at **$499,950** and has 2 bedrooms, 2.25 baths, 1,153 sq ft, plus more than **400 sq ft of finished flex space** downstairs with its own exterior entrance.

That extra space could be an office, gym, media room, hobby space, storage, or whatever works for you.

So now there’s another option for somebody who likes the home but may want a different way to put the deal together.

**Seller financing available. Terms subject to seller approval.**

601 12th Ave NW , Issaquah

https://portal.onehome.com/en-US/share/1754761h66125

09/10/2026

Mortgage rates moved up again this week, with the average 30-year fixed rate hitting 6.76%.

That makes affordability tougher for buyers, but there’s another side to what’s happening right now.

King County has more homes for sale, fewer closed sales, and more negotiating room than we had a year ago. In a lot of areas, I’d call it a slight buyer advantage.

For sellers, this is why pricing matters so much. Buyers are comparing your home against everything else available today, while also doing the math on a higher monthly payment.

This market is still very neighborhood specific and property specific. One area can move quickly while another one a few miles away looks completely different.

I broke down the latest mortgage rate news and what it means locally in my newest Market Update.

https://www.danacharter.com/market-updates/mortgage-rates-king-county-september-10-2026/

09/05/2026

Mortgage rates are basically in a tug of war right now.

Inflation is pulling one way. Employment numbers are pulling the other. Then a new report comes out and the whole thing shifts again.

For buyers, I wouldn’t sit around waiting for the “perfect” rate. I’d look at what the payment is today, what you can negotiate, and whether the house makes sense for you now.

For sellers, this matters too. Higher rates cut into buying power, which means pricing your home against the actual competition is more important than ever.

None of us controls where rates go next. We can only make the best decision with the market we have in front of us.

I broke down what’s moving rates right now and what it means for buyers and sellers in my latest market update.

https://www.danacharter.com/market-updates/mortgage-rate-tug-of-war-september-2026/

09/01/2026

Here are the September 1 numbers for the Duvall housing market.

What stands out to me is that 32% of the homes for sale have already had a price reduction, and the median time on market is now 42 days. Inventory is still limited, but buyers have more time to look at different homes and negotiate.

For sellers, one of the biggest decisions is pricing for where the market is going, not where it has been. Starting too high and then having to chase the market down with price reductions is a tough position to be in.

These are Duvall-wide numbers. What is happening in one neighborhood or with one type of home can be completely different from what is happening a few streets away.

08/31/2026

NWMLS is adding a new listing option called First Look starting September 4.

For the right seller, this could be a useful tool. It allows an eligible home to start being marketed before it goes fully Active, with some flexibility around timing and whether showings are allowed.

It won’t make sense for every property. Real estate is still very neighborhood and property specific, and the best way to bring one home to market may be completely different from the house a few blocks away.

I broke down what First Look is, how it works, and where I think it could make sense for sellers.

Read more: danacharter.com/market-updates/nwmls-first-look-september-2026

08/29/2026

More sellers are cutting their prices, but a price reduction does not automatically make a home a good deal. Sometimes it creates an opportunity. Other times, it just means the home was priced too high to begin with.

I wrote about what the numbers are showing and what it means for buyers and sellers in our local market.

https://danacharter.com/market-updates/sellers-cutting-prices-august-2026/

08/21/2026

Pending home sales dropped nationally in July, with the West seeing the largest decline.

Locally, we’re seeing more homes for buyers to choose from and fewer completed sales, but prices aren’t moving the same way in every Eastside city.

I broke down what the national report means for our local market and what buyers and sellers should take from it.

National pending home sales declined in July while Eastside inventory rose and local closings fell. Here is what buyers and sellers should take from it.

08/15/2026

I pulled the July numbers for several Eastside markets to see how they compare with last year.

The first thing that jumps out is inventory. There are more homes for sale in every market on this chart, including an 83% increase in Sammamish. At the same time, closed sales are down almost everywhere.

Prices are a little more complicated. Redmond, Woodinville, Sammamish and Newcastle are up, while Kirkland, Bellevue, Bothell, Duvall and Mercer Island are down.

This is a good example of why broad statements about “the market” don’t tell the whole story. What’s happening in Redmond isn’t necessarily what’s happening in Duvall or Mercer Island.