Listings up, mortgage rates steady, but buyers are still nervous
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 1 week AGO
This home in Moses Lake’s Park Orchard neighborhood, was listed Wednesday on the real estate website Redfin.com at $340,000, the median price for a Grant County home in April.
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 30, 2025 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — Listings are up in Washington, and interest rates are holding steady, according to the latest data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends for 26 of Washington’s 39 counties.
The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.86% in May, only a tenth of a percentage point above March and about the same amount less than the 6.94% of a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. Rates peaked at 7.79 in October 2023 and have mostly fluctuated between 6% and 7% since then.
Median home prices remained steady as well, changing by less than a percentage point statewide as well as in the Basin. The median home price in Grant County was $340,000, the same as April 2024, and in Adams County the median price was $310,000, the lowest in the 26 counties NWMLS covered, compared to $331,500 in April 2024.
Active listings showed more activity in Washington, rising 47.4% in April 2025 over April 2024, according to the NWMLS data. Grant County active listings increased almost 60% in that same time period, but only 15% in Adams County.
That didn’t translate to more homes changing hands, however. Closed sales remained the same between April 2024 and April 2025 statewide, although Grant County closed sales increased 21% and went up 4% in Adams County.
The western part of Grant County, including Crescent Bar, Desert Aire and Sunland Estates, had the highest number of active listings in April, according to the NWMLS, and showed an increase year-over-year of 60.34%.
Nationwide, new listings rose 8.4% in May, according to a report from technology-based real estate brokerage Redfin. Pending sales dipped by 2.2%, however, suggesting that buyers aren’t going for what’s available. Fewer Americans are willing to invest in a home with an unpredictable economy and high interest rates, Redfin’s analysis said.
“As the number of sellers continues to outpace buyers, it is not surprising that price growth has slowed,” Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, wrote in the NWMLS release.
“Recent media coverage identifies not only socioeconomic uncertainties such as tariffs and inflation, but also the willingness of both buyers and sellers to make concessions as potential factors in final sales prices in the last month,” the release continued.
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.