Number of Thurston County homes sold plunges as average mortgage rates hover near 8%
The Thurston County housing market hit a wall in October — as did most housing markets in the region — as higher mortgage interest rates sent sales tumbling to a low not seen since last winter, according to new data released by Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Sales plunged last month to 258 units, down 30% from the 372 units that sold in October 2022, the data show.
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The 258 sales were the smallest monthly total since 215 sold in February. The county was not alone in feeling a slower pace of sales. All of the markets tracked by Northwest MLS fell by an average of 18% in the year-over-year October period.
Real estate experts say you can attribute the slide to higher mortgage interest rates.
“With the 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently just shy of 8%, the purchasing power of prospective buyers has weakened further,” said Mason Virant, associate director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at The University of Washington. “This has led to a continued decline in year-over-year transaction volume with overall median prices increasing by only 1% across counties covered by the NWMLS.”
Although some counties experienced a modest increase in median price, Thurston County median price barely budged in the period, off less than 1% to $496,000 last month from $500,000 in October 2022. However, that $496,000 median price was down substantially from the all-time high of $529,950 reported in August.
If there’s a bright spot in the October data, the inventory of homes for sale inched closer to two months. A market that doesn’t favor either buyers or sellers has inventory in the range of four to six months.
Average mortgage interest rates are at 7.76%, according to Freddie Mac, which tracks mortgage rates.
“The Federal Reserve again decided not to raise interest rates but have not ruled out a hike before year-end,” said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. “Coupled with geopolitical uncertainty, this ambiguity around monetary policy will likely have an impact on the overall economic landscape and may continue to stall improvements in the housing market.”
The October data
▪ Single-family home sales fell 30.65% to 258 units last month from 372 in October 2022.
▪ Single-family home median price fell less than 1% to $496,000 from $500,000 over the same period.
▪ Single-family home pending sales fell 13% to 288 units from 332 units over the same period.
▪ Condo sales rose to 16 units from 11 units over the same period.
▪ Condo median price rose 23.8% to $352,825 from $285,000 over the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales rose to 22 units from nine units over the same period.
Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service
