Thurston median home price stabilizing, but sales fall nearly 40 percent, data show
The median price of a Thurston County home appears to be stabilizing, but sales plunged in October in the face of higher mortgage interest rates, according to new housing data released Monday by Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Sales fell nearly 40 percent last month from October 2021, the data show.
“There is no doubt the market has changed with higher interest rates being the main culprit,” said Jeff Pust, owner and designated broker at Van Dorm Realty in Olympia.
The average 30-year mortgage interest rate continues to hover around 7 percent, up from about 3 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprise that provides capital to mortgage lenders.
“Unsure buyers navigating an unpredictable landscape keep demand declining while other potential buyers remain sidelined from an affordability standpoint,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
Sales here have tumbled as a result and prices have dipped since early summer, although the median price still rose 5 percent from a year ago, and even on a month-to-month basis, the price ticked up in October, the data show.
The median price in October was $500,000, up 5.3 percent from October 2021 and up from $489,700 in September 2022. The county median price hit a high of $525,000 in June.
Although prices appear to be plateauing, don’t expect them to implode, said Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. He expects regional home values will turn modestly negative in 2023, but said, “those who hope to pick up a home ‘on the cheap’ are likely in for a long wait.”
Fewer sales have allowed a buildup of inventory. Months of inventory, an indication of how long it would take the current pace of sales to exhaust the supply of homes on the market, is now approaching two months. King, Snohomish and Pierce counties are already at that point, the data show.
A market that doesn’t favor either buyers or sellers is thought to have months of inventory in the range of four to six months. Although inventory hasn’t quite reached those levels, it had been below one month in Thurston County for years.
October home sales data
▪ Single-family home sales fell 37.8 percent to 372 homes in October 2022 from 598 units in October 2021.
▪ Single-family home median price rose 5.3 percent to $500,000 from $474,750 over the same period.
▪ Single-family home pending sales fell 48.6 percent to 332 homes from 646 units over the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to 11 units from 13 units between October 2022 and October 2021.
▪ Condo median price fell to $285,000 from $290,000 over the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales fell to nine units from 17 units over the same period.
Source: Northwest MLS.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
