WA home prices up over all, lower in Adams, steady in Grant
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 1 month AGO
A home for sale in Othello Wednesday. Home prices in Adams County, some of the lowest in the state, dropped 30% in the last year, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service,
GABRIEL DAVIS/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | December 8, 2023 1:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — Home prices are up slightly and inventory is down across the state compared to a year ago, but numbers in the Basin tell a slightly different story, according to data released Wednesday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Washington had 10,177 active listings in November 2023 compared to 12,245 in November 2022, according to the NMLS figures, a 20% decrease. Adams County listings went from 58 in 2022 to 45 in 2023, a drop of 29%, but Grant County barely shifted, going from 224 active listings a year ago to 226.
A slight decrease in interest rates has raised cautious optimism, the NMLS wrote; interest rates now sit at around 7.2%, in comparison to 7.8% in October 2023, and a continuation of that decrease would have a positive impact on the market in general. However, the decline in seasonal inventory continues to drive home prices upward, spurring an increase of 4.6% in prices from November 2022.
The number of homes sold decreased statewide by 16%, but seven counties, including Grant and Adams, saw a year-over-year increase. Ten homes were sold in Adams County in November 2023 compared to six in November 2023. Here again, Grant County held steady, going from 74 to 75 closed sales.
Adams County saw a substantial increase in months of inventory, or the amount of time it would take to sell all the homes on the market in a particular area, dropping from 9.7 months in November 2022 to 4.5 in November 2023. Grant County stayed the same year-over-year. Statewide months of inventory decreased by 1.1% from 2022 to 2023, comparatively stable after the 363% leap between November 2021 and November 2022.
The median sales price increased year-over-year in 21 of the 26 total counties included in the statistical report. Overall, the median price for homes sold in November 2023 was $601,341, up 4.6% when compared to November 2022 ($575,000). The three counties with the highest median-priced homes sold were San Juan ($975,000, down 21.5% from November 2022), King ($799,925, up 6.6%) and Snohomish ($703,635, up 3.9%). The three counties with the lowest median-priced homes sold were Grant ($327,999, up 6.6% from November 2022), Ferry ($313,750, up 4.5%) and Adams ($221,500, down 30%).
Although the number of sales transactions and housing inventory levels typically drop in the fall and winter months, the expected seasonal slow-down continues to be exacerbated by the high-interest-rate environment for buyers relying on mortgages, according to the NMLS report.
When it came to new listings, Adams County showed the same figures for November 2022 as 2023, Grant County rose slightly from 59 listings to 66 and Washington state dropped 17%, from 4,243 to 3,933.
“With the 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently just over 7.2%, the purchasing power of prospective buyers remains stunted relative to a few short years ago,” Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington, wrote in the report. “Moreover, current owners with low-rate mortgages continue to be reluctant to sell. This has led to a continued decline in year-over-year transaction volume and the inventory levels in the market.”
Joel Martin may be reached at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
All things ag
Spokane Ag Show has something for everyone
SPOKANE — All things agricultural will be on display the first week of February at the 48th annual Spokane Ag Show at the Spokane Convention Center. The Spokane Ag Show is one of the largest ag expos in the region, said Show Director Melisa Paul. “A typical year brings in just short of 6,000 attendees,” Paul said. “We’re expecting 230-plus exhibitors and nearly 3,000 exhibitor reps. So far, we’re putting on 47 professional farm forum seminars, which is standard for us.” Ten of those seminars will be pesticide recertification courses, Paul said. The certified crop applicator, or CCA, credits from those seminars are approved in both Washington and Idaho, and seven of them are approved in Oregon as well. Since a CCA has to earn 40 hours of continuing education credits for every two-year period, the ag show is a good place to get them.
Trade school scholarship auction coming Feb. 15 in Mattawa
MATTAWA — The Sven Legacy Foundation will hold a fundraiser silent auction Feb. 15 near Mattawa, complete with food, drinks, music and lots to bid on. The foundation was formed in November in memory of its namesake, Sven Leland, a Mattawa farmer who passed away last year. The purpose is to help students who aren’t planning to go to college have career options.
Home solar can trim bills, but research before installing
EPHRATA — With the cost of everything going up, some homeowners want to embrace self-sufficiency in energy by mounting solar panels on their roofs to generate power. And considering the Basin’s abundant sunshine, that seems like a great solution for this area. “We do encourage customers to go into their solar investment fully educated with clear expectations,” said Chris Buchmann, energy programs supervisor for the Grant Public Utility District.