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February home sales dive 34%

Decrease in houses available could boost market, agent says

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published March 05, 2009

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Prospective Thurston County homebuyers took a wait-and-see attitude in February, resulting in a drop in home sales last month after sales perked up in January, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Wednesday.

Home sales fell 34 percent to 147 units in February from 223 units in February 2008, a disappointing drop after the South Sound housing market showed signs of improving in January, combined single-family residence and condo data show. Year-over-year home sales in January rose for the first time in nearly two years, according to the Northwest MLS.

Also in February, year-over-year median prices remained essentially flat, falling 0.37 percent to $259,000 from $259,950. Total listings, meanwhile, plunged 18.92 percent to 1,603 units in February 2009 from 1,977 units in February 2008.

South Sound real estate professionals said Wednesday they were surprised by February's home-sales results. Real estate agent Bob Jorgenson of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty said prospective buyers might have "crawled back on the fence," waiting to see how the federal government's stimulus plan would affect the housing market.

He acknowledged, too, that some prospective buyers are waiting to see whether mortgage interest rates drop below 5 percent.

Still, Jorgenson said he has been busy, showing some houses three or four times a week, and "street traffic" has been strong, with prospective buyers picking up 25 to 30 fliers at some properties.

The year-over-year drop in inventory also bodes well for the market because fewer listings could heat up the real estate market, Jorgenson said.

"It might be good to take advantage of prices now," he said.

Riley Jackson Real Estate co-owner Tamera Strawn, a listing agent for an eco-friendly housing development on Tumwater Hill known as The Overlook, also said she has been busy. She has sold six houses at The Overlook, and four more sales are pending, Strawn said.

"We are defying the odds," she said.

Another factor that might have contributed to the February downturn in home sales is the state of the national economy and its effect on consumer confidence, Thurston County Realtors Association president Mark Steves said.

Prospective buyers continue to ask when the market is going to hit bottom, Steves said.

"We are going to be on the way back up before we truly figure it out," he said.

Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.