Home listings, sales up in Grant County
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 months, 4 weeks AGO
This Moses Lake home was listed for $359,000 Wednesday. Active listings in Grant County were up by more than a third last month compared to August 2024.
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. | September 12, 2025 3:00 AM
KIRKLAND — More homes are on the market in Washington than a year ago and closed sales are up in Grant County but down over much of the state, according to data released this week by Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 27 Washington counties.
Statewide, there were 20,219 properties on the market at the end of August 2025, an increase of 30.8% over August 2024. Adams County held more or less steady with 54 properties for sale in August 2024 compared to 51 at the same time last year, but Grant County, with 492 active listings, showed an increase of 35.54%.
Comparing August 2025 to July 2025 tells another story, according to the NWMLS data. Statewide listings were down by 2.7%. Grant County active listings decreased slightly from 500 in July to 492 in August, and Adams County active listings went from 58 to 54 in the same time.
Grant County showed one of the largest increases in new listings between August 2024 and August 2025, rising 15.6%, whereas statewide new listings dropped by 2.4%. Adams County showed no change. Between July and August, new listings dropped 25.6% in Grant County and 12.5% in Adams County, compared to a 16.2% drop statewide.
Washington agents closed 5.7% fewer sales in August 2025 than in August 2024, according to the NWMLS. Grant County saw an 11.5% increase in closed sales, while Adams County dropped by 28.57%.
Median home prices rose by 5.11% in Grant County between August 2024 and August 2025, to $367,900. The median home price in Adams County was $377,627, an increase of 22.82%. Washington state median home prices overall held fairly steady, going from $645,000 to $650,000.
The average 30-year mortgage interest rate Wednesday was 6.5%, not too far from the 6.35% rate a year ago.
“Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined early in the month, from 6.72% at the end of July to 6.63% a week later, but have dropped relatively slowly since then, ending the month at 6.56%,” Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, wrote in the NWMLS release. “Pressure on the Federal Reserve Bank to lower its overnight federal funds rate is expected to result in cuts later this year, but it is unclear that such cuts will lead to significant changes in long-term rates, such as for mortgages.”
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.