Thurston County housing data for September has been released. Here’s what it shows
After an August that showed a gain in home sales, the Thurston County housing market reversed course in September as sales fell nearly 10%, according to new data released this week by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
That might come as a surprise to some because average 30-year mortgage rates have tumbled in recent weeks to around 6%. However, that’s still twice as high as rates during the pandemic and immediately after it.
“This continues to have a major impact on affordability,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington, about higher interest rates. “It seems unlikely that the volume of transactions will pick up substantially without some significant improvement in affordability.”
Transactions here fell in the year-over-year September period, the data show.
Sales of single-family residences fell 9.7% to 279 units last month from 309 units in September 2023. Median price rose 3% to $515,000 over the same period, while months of inventory in September stood at two months. Although that is slightly higher than in recent months, it is still a market that favors the seller over the buyer.
A housing market that doesn’t favor either party has inventory in the range of four to six months.
A closer look at the September data
▪ Sales of single-family residences fell 9.71% to 279 units last month from 309 units in September 2023.
▪ Single-family median price rose 3% to $515,000 from $500,00 in the same period.
▪ Single-family pending sales rose 9.8% to 336 units from 306 units in the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to 10 units from 17 units in the same period.
▪ Condo median price fell 9% to $309,500 from $340,000 in the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales fell to 10 units from 16 units.
Thurston County median price by area
▪ Northwest Thurston: $750,000 (11 sales).
▪ Boston Harbor: $700,000 (7 sales).
▪ East Olympia: $658,000 (9 sales).
▪ West Olympia: $600,000 (19 sales).
▪ South Olympia: $589,500 (22 sales).
▪ Northeast Thurston: $562,385 (27 sales).
▪ Hawks Prairie: $545,500 (26 sales).
▪ Yelm/Rainier: $520,052 (40 sales).
▪ Tumwater: $515,000 (40 sales).
▪ North Olympia: $465,000 (11 sales).
▪ Lacey: $465,000 (27 sales).
▪ Rochester: $450,000 (13 sales).
▪ Southeast Thurston: $447,900 (5 sales).
▪ South Thurston: $447,500 (16 sales).
▪ Black Hills: $432,500 (6 sales).
Source: Northwest MLS
