Thurston County median home price is still very high. Could this new legislation help?
The median price of a single-family home in Thurston County rose to $530,000 last month, up 6% from February 2024, according to new data released this week by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
That’s probably welcome news for anyone interested in selling, but will likely elicit another round of groans from prospective buyers — especially first-time buyers wondering if they will ever be able to afford a home here.
House Bill 1096, which was passed by the state House on Thursday and is now on its way to the Senate, aims to bring relief to the situation. If ultimately signed into law, it seeks to increase the supply of missing middle-type homes — accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes and triplexes — as well as single-family homes with a simplified lot-splitting process.
“By cutting through unnecessary red tape, the bill would help homeowners build new housing units faster and more affordably while still meeting zoning requirements and infrastructure needs like water and sewer access,” said the bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, in a statement.
Thurston County has been mired in a housing market that favors sellers because the supply of homes is so low, according to Northwest MLS data. The county had about 400 active listings and 200 sales last month, which equates to two month’s supply of inventory.
A housing market that doesn’t favor either sellers or buyers is thought to have four to six months’ worth of inventory.
Remember those days? Perhaps not.
Mitch Dietz, the owner of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, said the county last had about 1,000 active listings in one month 10 years ago. A lot has happened since: home building slowed, then demand and housing prices soared when mortgage interest rates hit record lows of 3% during and after the pandemic. Interest rates are now closer to 7%.
So where would the lot-splitting idea work best?
Barkis said the city of Lacey makes for a good example — particularly older, central Lacey where the homes are typically smaller and the lots larger. For example, a number of homes on 13th Avenue Southeast, near Brooks Park, occupy lots that are one-third of an acre.
Here are some of the lot-splitting details, according to a House Bill report about the legislation.
▪ The application process for a lot split would only require an administrative decision through which the application is reviewed and approved or denied by the planning director or other designee without a pre-decision public hearing.
▪ Lots that are not buildable include critical areas, shorelines, stormwater retention areas, setbacks and impervious surface areas.
▪ Any lot resulting from a lot split may be divided under other land subdivision processes if the lots meet size requirements.
During public testimony on the bill, it won support from the building community but also attracted some environmental concerns, according to a summary of comments from those opposed to it.
“This bill threatens our environment and does not help us achieve affordable housing targets,” the comments read. “It would allow property owners to sell their backyards while preempting critical area regulations.”
Thurston County housing data for February
▪ Single-family home sales fell about 1% to 202 units last month from 204 units in February 2024.
▪ Single-family home median price rose 6% to $530,000 from $499,990 over the same period.
▪ Single-family home pending sales fell 13.5% to 255 units from 295 units over the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to seven units from 14 units over the same period.
▪ Condo median price fell about 20% to $322,000 from $401,950 over the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales were unchanged at 15 units over the same period.
Source: Northwest MLS.
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
