‘Nobody likes this (housing) market,’ says real estate official

If you thought July’s lull in the housing market was a sign of things to come, forget it: August came roaring back with the heat as sales of single-family residences rose 25 percent in Thurston County, despite continuing low levels of inventory.

In fact, the total number of single-family homes on the market in August fell 22 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Wednesday.

Tumbling inventory levels in the county resulted in 1.43 months of inventory, an estimate of how long it would take to exhaust the supply of residences on the market at the current pace of sales. Right now the market heavily favors sellers. A balanced market that doesn’t favor buyers or sellers is thought to have between four and six months of inventory.

It’s not just buyers having a tough time. Nobody likes this market, said Dick Beeson, a Northwest MLS director.

“Sellers aren’t necessarily happy because they think they could be leaving money on the table,” said Beeson in a statement. “Buyers think they’re paying too much. And brokers think sales are more complex and fraught with peril than previously, making them harder to close.”

Thurston County also saw the median price increase 5.7 percent last month, to $287,450 from $272,000.

But it still hasn’t become the King County experience.

Despite having little to no inventory and flat sales growth in August, King County buyers still paid a lot for what little there was, driving the median price 18 percent higher to $650,000, the data show.

Pierce County, too, saw its median price surge more than 9 percent to $313,000 last month. Pierce County’s median price for single-family homes rose to $300,000 in May and it has remained at that level since.

A closer look at the Thurston County data:

▪ Sales rose 25 percent to 594 units from 475 units. Median price increased 5.7 percent to $287,450 from $272,000. Pending sales were flat, rising to 631 units from 630 units.

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 4:04 PM with the headline "‘Nobody likes this (housing) market,’ says real estate official."