MOSES LAKE — The return of mortgage interest rates to more historic norms has resulted in a Moses Lake housing market that’s closer to historic norms.  

Longtime real estate professional Alan Heroux said there are about 210 to 215 houses on the market currently, compared to a historic average of about 250 to 350 at any given time. But a couple of years ago the number was less than 30 houses for sale at any given time, he said. 

Solomon Ulyanchuk, broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate-Gary Mann Realty, said it’s neither a buyer’s nor a seller’s market.  

“It’s a real estate market,” Heroux said. “I would consider the market to be relatively normal.”  

Ulyanchuk estimated about 40 to 50 sales were pending as of the week of April 20. 

“The pendings are just a little bit lower (than average),” he said.  

Danielle Boss, agent with Windemere Real Estate K-2 Realty in Moses Lake, said potential buyers are getting used to mortgage rates at 6% to 7%, rather than 2% to 3%, which was the rate for a few years. The current rates are not historically high, she said, but for a while they caused buyers to hesitate.  

In addition, Boss and Heroux said some people who bought a house when rates were low are reluctant to sell, even though they want to buy something else. Low interest rates meant people could afford houses that might be out of reach at 6% or 7% interest. 

“The affordability went way up,” he said. 

With interest rates going up, people would be looking at much higher mortgages — as much as double — to get the house they want, Heroux said.  

That means people are less willing to sell what they have, Boss said, unless there are changes in their lives that give them a compelling reason to buy a new house.  

“What we still have to deal with is the cleanup of that,” Heroux said.  

Buyers and sellers are still facing a market that isn’t keeping up with demand, Heroux said. Boss said Moses Lake and Grant County in general are still attractive to buyers; many of them are selling hoses in much more expensive markets. 

“We need more inventory,” Heroux said.  

More housing is under construction — but that puts pressure on existing housing. Heroux said a lot of buyers will prefer new construction, and that in turn affects — in fact, it dramatically affects — the price of existing houses, he said.