Thurston County home sales rise 20 percent in November
The Thurston County housing market showed no signs of slowing down in November after sales rose 20 percent from the same month a year ago, according to new Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released on Monday.
What’s driving the market? The same things that have propelled it for months: low mortgage interest rates, low inventory and out-of-area demand, which has translated into a firmly entrenched sellers market.
Overall active listings here last month were lower by 59 percent from the same time last year, said J. Lennox Scott, Chairman and Chief Executive of John L. Scott Real Estate.
Van Dorm Realty managing broker Steve Pust said on any given day the county has 150-165 active listings, the lowest level of homes for sale in his 22 years of working in real estate.
“There are way more buyers than sellers and house prices are getting bid up,” he said, adding that even at the lower end of the market, prices are rising, too.
The median price of a single-family residence rose 11 percent last month from the same month a year ago, the Northwest MLS data show.
How do you sell homes when there’s so little inventory? That’s one challenge the market might eventually encounter, Pust said, but it also might see an increase in inventory the hard way — via the foreclosure process.
Some homes will fall into foreclosure because the owner lost their job during the pandemic, or because moratoriums tied to the foreclosure process have been lifted, he said.
And for those who can’t find a home here, it appears that some buyers are moving on to Lewis and Mason counties, the Northwest MLS data show.
Sales in November rose nearly 25 percent in Mason County and 17 percent in Lewis County, the data show.
A closer look at the Thurston County single-family residence data
▪ Sales rose 20.57 percent to 469 units last month from 389 units in November 2019.
▪ Median price rose 11.17 percent to $389,000 from $349,900 over the same period.
▪ Pending sales fell 1.21 percent to 407 units from 412 units over the same period.
A closer look at the Thurston County condo data
▪ Sales rose to 17 units last month from 10 units in November 2019.
▪ Median price fell 12 percent to $205,000 from $234,000 over the same period.
▪ Pending sales rose to 18 units from 13 units over the same period.
Source: Northwest MLS.
