Thurston County median home price rises to new high
Just when it appeared that a slight increase in inventory might moderate median price increases for long-suffering home buyers in Thurston County, a new reality emerged in September, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Wednesday.
Despite the slight increase in inventory, demand remains so strong — more than 600 homes were sold last month for the third straight month — that it pushed the county median price to a new high of $470,000, up 20 percent from the same period a year ago.
In July, 605 homes sold, followed by 617 in August and 613 in September, the data show.
New listings in September rose to 639 units from 536 units in September 2020, but with sales climbing 15 percent, the market still has less than one month of inventory, which favors sellers and leaves buyers competing for homes.
A market that doesn’t favor either party is thought to have enough inventory for four to six months.
Why is there so much demand in Thurston County? Because even a median price of $470,000 is a relative bargain compared to King County. The median price of a King County home last month was $745,000, but the average price was $961,790, the data show.
Here’s how broker Dick Beeson of Re/Max Northwest summed up the state of the market: “Brutal and unforgiving for buyers and sellers,” with “dreams being crushed on all sides,” he said in a statement. “Buyers are swallowing hard and paying prices they curse, while sellers are having to move somewhere they hadn’t originally planned — be that good or bad.”
But with summer over, buyers shouldn’t give up just yet, said John Deely, executive vice president of operations for Coldwell Baker Bain.
“Buyers should consider staying in the market, if they can, as homeowners who are selling in the last quarter of the year tend to be highly motivated,” he said in a statement. “Buyers will find less competition this time of year due to inclement weather and holiday travel.”
September housing data for Thurston County
▪ Single-family home sales rose 15 percent to 613 units last month, from 533 units in September 2020.
▪ Single-family home median price rose 20 percent to $470,000 from $390,000 over the same period.
▪ Pending sales rose 10.6 percent to 657 units from 594 over the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to 20 units last month from 21 units over the same period a year ago.
▪ Condo median price was largely unchanged at $257,500, compared to $255,000 over the same period.
▪ Pending sales fell to 13 units from 16 units over the same period.
Source: Northwest MLS.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
