2025 sees slight real estate market improvement
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months AGO
This four-bedroom home was listed for $324,900 Wednesday in Moses Lake. Median prices are up by more than 8% in Grant County compared to a year ago, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
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. | March 6, 2026 3:00 AM
KIRKLAND — The real estate market in Washington improved in 2025 compared to the year before, according to data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 27 Washington counties. The data is compiled from the work of more than 31,000 real estate brokers in more than 2,400 member offices, according to the NWMLS.
Closed sales statewide increased slightly, by 0.21%, in 2025 over 2024, according to the NWMLS data. In Grant County, closed sales increased by 10.8%, and in Adams County by 17.82%.
The statewide median sales price was $644,500, according to the NWMLS data, a 0.7% increase from the 2024 median of $640,000. The median price statewide in 2015 was $310,000, which demonstrates sustained growth over the course of 10 years.
The median home price in Adams County was $349,999, an increase of 8.36% over 2024’s $323,000 median, while Grant County saw a 5.46% increase, from $345,000 to $363,850.
New construction has risen steadily in Grant and Adams counties. Grant County saw 262 new units on the market in 2025, an increase from 224 in 2024 and 205 in 2023, according to NWMLS data. Adams County added 28 units in 2025, compared to 26 in 20924 and 27 in 2023. The median price for a new home in Grant County was $360,760, a 5.38% increase from $341,355 in 2024. In Adams County, the median price for a new home was $395,855, up 4.05% from $380,450 in 2024.
Interest rates, which have slowed growth for the last several years, dipped from 2024 to 2025, according to Freddie Mac. The rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage started at 6.91% in January and ended at 6.15% in December 2025, compared to 2024 when rates went from 6.62% at the beginning of the year to 6.85%.
Despite the interest rate drop, affordability continued to be an issue in Washington state, according to the NWMLS data. Average active listings rose more than 34% between 2024 and 2025, while new listings increased by only 8.9%, implying a longer time on the market.
“Affordability constraints continue to put a damper on sales activity,” Steven Bourassa, Director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, wrote in the NWMLS data release. “Average 30-year mortgage rates dropped only slightly last year, from 6.72% in 2024 to 6.60% in 2025, which was not enough to overcome buyers’ affordability issues, particularly when prices were more or less stable. However, rates were declining toward the end of 2025, which could lead to greater affordability and more transactions in 2026 if the trend continues.”
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.