Interest rates down, active listings up in Basin
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 5 months AGO
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. | September 13, 2024 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — With lower mortgage rates, listings are up from a year ago in the Basin, as well as statewide, but closed sales are still staying put, according to data released Sept. 6 by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 26 of Washington’s 39 counties.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 6.35% at the end of August, the lowest since March, according to NMLS statistics.
Active listings were up 28.7% in Grant County and 27.5% in Adams County in August 2024 compared to August 2023, according to the NMLS. The increase statewide was 34%. The two counties with the greatest increase were Ferry at 83.3% and Douglas at 45.5%.
Pending sales were up 4.7% statewide, but down slightly locally, from 98 last August in Grant County to 95, and from 9 to 8 in Adams County. Sold listings remained virtually unchanged across the board, at 6,727 in August 2024 compared to 6,734 in August 2023. Grant County went from 81 closed sales to 87, while Adams County went from 13 to 14.
The Columbia Basin fared rather better than the state as a whole when it came to months of inventory, or the amount of time it would take to sell all the homes listed in a particular market. Adams County showed 3.6 MOI in August 2024 and Grant County showed 4.2, while statewide MOI was 2.3, still an increase from the 1.7 of a year ago. The counties with the lowest MOI were all in the Puget Sound area, the lowest being Snohomish County with 1.41 months of inventory.
Median home prices rose somewhat across the state from this time last year, up 4.9% from $615,000 to 645,000. Grant and Adams Counties had much less expensive housing, with the median sale price in Adams County at $307,475 and in Grant County at $350,000.
“Mortgage interest rates have already started to moderate, dropping to 6.35% (for 30-year terms) at the end of August from this year’s high of 7.22% at the beginning of May,” Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, wrote for the NMLS. “Unfortunately, lack of supply is going to continue to be an issue affecting house prices. Single- and multi-family permitting dropped off noticeably in 2022 as interest rates ramped upwards, and single-family home prices will likely continue to increase as interest rates drop.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Space Burger booth open March 13-15
MOSES LAKE — Those who can’t wait for the Grant County Fair can get their Space Burger fix next weekend, according to an announcement from the Lioness Club of Moses Lake. The iconic Grant County sandwiches will be available at the Grant County Fairgrounds March 13-15, according to the announcement. There is no admission fee to get into the fairgrounds that weekend.
SENIOR EVENTS: March 2026
COLUMBIA BASIN — Plays, art shows, auctions and more await seniors in the Columbia Basin this month. Here are some opportunities to get out and about in March.
Valentine’s Day cards flood Brookdale Hearthstone with love
MOSES LAKE — Residents at Brookdale Hearthstone Assisted Living in Moses Lake got Valentine’s Day greetings from across the country last month. “I believe that the only states we have not received (cards from) yet are Vermont and Maine,” Lifestyle Director Imelda Broyles said Feb. 24. “We keep receiving new cards every single day. They have not stopped. My residents are in awe with every single one of the cards that we’ve been receiving.” The Hearts Across America project started as a way for children in school classrooms to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with classes in other states or even countries, but the idea has expanded to senior living facilities, according to the project’s social media.