Is 2026 a Good Time to Sell in Pierce County?

THE QUESTION I KEEP GETTING

Barely a week goes by without someone asking me some version of this: should I wait, or should I sell now? The honest answer is not a yes or no. It depends on factors that are specific to you and your property. But I can tell you what I am seeing on the ground heading into 2026.

WHAT INVENTORY LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW

Inventory in Pierce County remains historically low. We are not seeing a flood of new listings, and until that changes, sellers still hold real leverage. Buyers who are qualified and ready are competing for a limited pool of homes. That dynamic has not disappeared.

Low inventory does not mean every house sells in three days with five offers. It means the well-prepared homes in strong price ranges still move confidently. The difference between a clean listing and a sloppy one is more pronounced, not less.

INTEREST RATES AND BUYER DEMAND

Rates are not where they were in 2021. Most buyers have adjusted to that reality. The buyers still active in this market are serious. They have been saving, qualifying, and waiting for the right property. They are not going to disappear because rates are not at record lows.

If you are waiting for rates to drop before selling, you are playing a game that is very hard to win. You have no control over what rates do, and if rates drop significantly, more buyers AND more sellers will flood the market simultaneously. The window of low competition you have right now may not last.

THE LOCK-IN EFFECT IS REAL BUT OVERSTATED

A lot of homeowners feel stuck because they bought or refinanced at 3 percent and cannot stomach trading that for a 6 or 7 percent rate on a new purchase. I understand that math. But it is worth running the actual numbers on your equity position.

If you bought in 2018, 2019, or 2020, you are sitting on significant appreciation. In many cases, the equity you have built changes the financial equation more than people realize when they actually crunch it.

MY HONEST TAKE

If you have been thinking about selling but have been waiting for a perfect moment, I want to be direct with you: there is no perfect moment. There is the moment you are prepared for and the moment you are not.

The sellers doing well in 2026 are the ones who are treating the sale like a business decision. Right price, right presentation, right timing within the year. Spring and early summer remain the strongest windows in this market historically.

If you are serious about exploring a sale, the first step is understanding exactly what your home is worth right now, not what you hope it is worth, but what the data says. That conversation is free and it takes about 30 minutes.

Ready to think about what a sale could look like? Read my breakdown of the TOP 3 MISTAKES SELLERS MAKE to make sure you go in prepared.