Interest rates down, active listings up in Basin
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 11 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
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.