Thurston County home sales soared in October. Here’s what the new data shows
Thurston County home sales rose more than 20% last month, possibly pushed higher by a drop in mortgage interest rates, according to new data released this week.
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service data shows that the number of home sales rose 23% to 318 units last month from 258 units in the same month a year ago.
What drove that increase? Mortgage interest rates fell to as low as 6% during the month before climbing again to about 7%, said Mitch Dietz, owner and designated broker of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty in Olympia.
He doesn’t think buyers acted quickly enough during the interval, although the buying activity eventually showed up, he said.
If a prospective buyer can afford to buy a home, now would be a good time to do so, said Dietz, because he believes interest rates are going to fall again. When they do, that could ignite more home-buying demand, but in the face of limited inventory, it also could push the median price higher, he said.
The median price in October was $510,000, up about 3% from October 2023, the data show. Inventory available was still under two months, which means the market still favors sellers. A market that doesn’t favor either buyer or seller has inventory in the range of four to six months.
Still, the relationship between buyer and seller is much better than it was because both parties are negotiating again, Dietz said. They are negotiating on the price of the home, closing costs, contingent sales and repairs, he said. Sellers need to get the house ready and price it right, he added.
Buyers are making larger down payments to buy a home, Dietz said. “The seller has to be willing to work with them,” he said.
Don’t think you need to pay cash for your home because conventional financing — securing a mortgage to buy a home — is still widely used. In fact, 42% of home sales in the county in September — the most recent data available — were the result of conventional financing, he said.
October data
▪ Single-family home sales rose 23.3% to 318 units last month from 258 units in October 2023.
▪ Single-family median price rose 2.8% to $510,000 from $496,000 over the same period.
▪ Single-family pending sales also rose 23.3% to 355 units from 288 units over the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to seven units from 16 units over the same period.
▪ Condo median price fell 10.7% to $315,000 from $352,825 over the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales fell to 18 units from 22 units over the same period.
Thurston County median price by area in October
▪ Northwest Thurston County: $850,000 (nine sales).
▪ Boston Harbor: $785,000 (four sales).
▪ Black Hills: $692,500 (12 sales).
▪ East Olympia: $620,000 (nine sales).
▪ Northeast Thurston County: $600,000 (35 sales).
▪ West Olympia: $572,500 (24 sales).
▪ Tumwater: $495,000 (24 sales).
▪ Yelm/Rainier: $490,000 (45 sales).
▪ South Thurston County: $489,000 (17 sales)
▪ South Olympia: $485,000 (25 sales).
▪ Lacey: $485,000 (41 sales).
▪ Rochester: $470,000 (11 sales).
▪ Southeast Thurston County: $465,000 (11 sales).
▪ Hawks Prairie: $464,725 (36 sales).
▪ North Olympia: $460,000 (15 sales).
Source: Northwest MLS
