Home sales up despite higher interest rates
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 3 months AGO
This home for sale in Moses Lake was listed at $289,500 as of Wednesday, according to Realtor.com. Median home prices in Grant County rose more than 13% over the last year.
JOEL MARTIN/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. | May 10, 2024 1:45 AM
KIRKLAND — Activity in the housing market increased in April in spite of rising interest rates, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which compiles statistics from 26 of Washington’s 39 counties. Interest rates have increased by 0.38 percentage points over the past month to 7.17%, continuing to constrain prospective buyers’ purchasing power and prospective sellers’ willingness to give up low-interest-rate mortgages, according to the NWMLS.
Closed sales statewide increased 13.5% between March 2024 and April 2024, although Grant County saw a 13% decrease and Adams County dropped 20%. Closed sales in Washington were up nearly 10% over last April, according to the NWMLS. Closed sales in Grant County were up 12% year-over-year, but Adams County dropped by more than 50% year-over-year.
The number of homes on the market increased by almost 21% across the state, according to the NWMLS. Twenty-three counties saw an increase, including Grant County, which rose 16%. Adams County was virtually unchanged between April 2023 and April 2024. Active listings in Adams County rose between March and April 2024 by 29%, and in Grant County by about 4%.
The median price of homes rose by about 7% statewide between April 2023 and April 2024, according to the NMLS. Grant County median prices were up 13%, while Adams County dropped by about 1%. Grant and Adams counties had the second- and third-lowest median prices in Washington, at $340,000 and $331,500, respectively.
NWMLS also provided insights into consumer activities during April 2024:
· Keyboxes located at listed properties were accessed 152,999 times in April 2024, a 3% increase from activity in March 2024 when they were accessed 148,536 times.
· 122,975 property showings were scheduled in the NWMLS system in April 2024, similar to the 125,193 that were scheduled in March 2024.
· In April 2024, there were 13,761 listed properties that were eligible for financial assistance in the Down Payment Resource program, which made up 70.8% of all listings on NWMLS. The DPR program is directly integrated into NWMLS systems and provides buyers with a list of financial programs that could help them purchase a home.
“The increase in year-over-year sales transactions signals that buyers and sellers are beginning to adjust to the higher interest rate environment,” Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, wrote in the NWMLS announcement.
By the numbers:
Changes are from April 2023 to April 2024
Active listings
Statewide 9,813 +20.94%
Grant County 244 +16.75%
Adams County 94 46.88%
Closed sales
Statewide 5,847 +9.54%
Grant County 66 +11.86%
Adams County 8 -52.94%
Median price
Statewide $651,000 +7.92%
Grant County $340,000 +13.33
Adams County 331,500 -1.34%
SOURCE: NWMLS
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.