MOUNTLAKE TERACE — This south Snohomish County city has the fastest-selling homes in the nation, according to a new report from the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Listings on the market at the ZIP code 98043, where Mountlake Terrace is located, lasted an average of only 27 days on the market in the second quarter of this year, the Business Journal reported based on an analysis of data from Black Knight Inc., a real estate analytics company. In the same time period, the average home spent 81 number of days on the market nationwide.

Why the high demand? Well, the city of just over 21,000 residents features relatively affordable homes for first-time buyers compared to nearby cities, according to local real estate agents.

“There’s a shortage of homes, and particularly starter homes, in this country and in this area,” said Craig Forehand, manager at the Lynnwood branch of John L. Scott.

Fixer-upper homes in Mountlake Terrace are going for between $400,000 and $500,000, said George Montemor, a real estate agent based in Lynnwood. Similar homes in nearby Lynnwood and Edmonds are selling for $600,000 to $800,000. Combined with increased development in the city and the connection to Seattle improved by the newly opened Link light rail station, it’s an appealing town for first-time home buyers.

“With Seattle going up so much, Mountlake Terrace has maintained some affordability,” Forehand said.

Mountlake Terrace’s population is expected to grow to over 34,000 by 2044. The city will need to build nearly 8,000 more housing units to fit the demand, according to Snohomish County growth targets.

Home values continue to rise across the county. Some cities like Lynnwood have some of the fastest growing sale prices in the state, according to data from Redfin, the Seattle-based online real estate brokerage. Sale prices in the city rose 16.6% over the past year, compared to 8.6% in Snohomish County as a whole. In March, data from Zillow found home value in Mill Creek had grown 8% from the past year, with the average home valued at $1.2 million.

Meanwhile, interest rates fell beginning in August but have begun to rise again in recent weeks. Current rates hover around 6.5%, said David Bryce, a loan officer based in Lynnwood.

Interest rates for mortgages nationwide skyrocketed from a low of approximately 3.2% to a high of just over 7% in 2022, according to data from Freddie Mac. Bryce expects interest rates to decrease as inflation continues to drop.

“It’s not really if they’ll come down, it’s by how much and how long it will take,” Bryce said.

Real estate agents predict the market will “loosen up,” Montemor said, due to the lowering interest rates, increasing the inventory of homes on the market while making the market more competitive.

“I think it’s going to widen inventory because sellers right now are sitting on pretty low interest rates and they have no motivation to sell their house or relocate or upgrade,” Montemor said. “… As far as buyers go, I think it’ll also motivate them, they’ll be able to get a far better interest rate, get a better deal with their lenders than they are now. The only caveat for buyers is that I believe it’s going to be more competitive than it already is.”

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.