Ephrata’s Desert Plains development growing slowly but steadily
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 1 week AGO
The Desert Plains development in northeastern Ephrata is growing modestly but steadily.
COURTESY PHOTO/R. HANS MILLER
This 1,.806-square-foot Raybern home in Ephrata has nine-foot ceilings and eight-foot doors.
There are still some homes available in the current phase of Raybern Homes’ Desert Plains development in Ephrata.
A kitchen in one of Raybern Homes’ recent constructions.
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 29, 2026 3:00 AM
EPHRATA — A neighborhood in the northeast corner of Ephrata isn’t growing fast, but it’s growing steadily.
“We have built and sold roughly 40 homes, and we’ve got another 10 to go in the first phase,” said Realtor Tyson Mollotte, who’s handling sales for the Desert Plains development. “They’ll be starting phase two later in the year.”
Desert Plains is about the right size for Ephrata, said Raybern Homes Chief Development Officer Austin Crawford. “For a market the size of Ephrata, I think we’re feeling pretty good about how it’s been going,” Crawford said. “It’s not a booming market by any means; it’s got a little bit of growth here and there, but it’s still Ephrata.”
Between 2020 and 2025, Ephrata’s population grew by 438 people, according to the Washington State Office of Financial management, an increase of 5.17%. In the same time span, Moses Lake’s population jumped by 9.5% in Moses Lake and Quincy’s by 10.43%. Still, those 438 people had to live somewhere, and small builders like Raybern are providing that place.
Homes in the Desert Plains development start around $320,000, Mollotte said, and run up to about $450,000. According to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the median home price in Ephrata was $355,000, and that includes both new construction and existing homes.
Floor plans start around 1,200 square feet, according to the Raybern Homes website.
The homes have a few extra features, Mollotte said, like black windows, stucco exteriors and nine-foot ceilings with eight-foot doors.
“I’ve been in real estate for eight years, and I’ve sold a lot of new construction,” Mollotte said. “I’ve been most impressed with the quality of these (homes)”
“They’re lower-priced homes,” Crawford said, “that people can enjoy and feel like they get a lot of value out of.”
The builder is both customer- and Realtor-friendly, Mollotte added. “(Raybern) has the end buyer in mind to get the best bang they can for their buck and be in a nice home that they can easily resell in five or 10 years when they're ready to upgrade,” he said. “Every home's going to have issues, warranty issues and things like that, and they've handled those professionally. As a Realtor, you put a lot of weight in that. It makes the experience much better for everybody.”
This 1,.806-square-foot Raybern home in Ephrata has nine-foot ceilings and eight-foot doors.
There are still some homes available in the current phase of Raybern Homes’ Desert Plains development in Ephrata.
A kitchen in one of Raybern Homes’ recent constructions.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
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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.