Thurston County housing data for November has been released. Here’s what it shows
Let’s face it: There’s not a lot to like about the Thurston County housing market as median price and mortgage interest rates remain high while the inventory of homes for sale remains low.
That trend continued in November as the median price stood at $525,000 and inventory remained just below two months, according to new data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Low inventory favors sellers. A housing market that doesn’t favor either buyer or seller has inventory in the range of four to six months.
Average mortgage interest rates on a 30-year mortgage also continue to hover near 7%, according to Freddie Mac, which tracks interest rates.
And yet it’s not all bad news because at least buyers and sellers are talking to each other and negotiating again over the purchase of a home.
A broker made that point to The Olympian in October, and Steve Garrett, designated broker and owner of Windermere Olympia, reiterated that position this week.
“Sellers are being more realistic in this marketplace,” he said, adding that there have been price reductions that help out buyers.
What can the negotiating process look like?
Garrett recently represented a seller who received a full-price offer of $465,000 for a home in Olympia. The seller was then willing to buy down the mortgage interest rate to help the buyer, he said, which allowed them to secure the mortgage at 5%. It will then rise to a fixed-rate of 7% in two years.
The seller got what they wanted and the buyer has a period of lower mortgage payments, Garrett said.
The November data
▪ Single-family home sales rose 12% to 241 units last month from 215 units in November 2023.
▪ Single-family home median price fell 1% to $525,000 from $529,900 over the same period.
▪ Single-family pending sales rose to 259 units from 224 units over the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to 11 units from 22 units over the same period.
▪ Condo median price fell 8.7% to $335,000 from $366,950 over the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales fell to seven units from 13 units over the same period.
Thurston County median price by area
▪ Hawks Prairie: 38 units, $488,950.
▪ Yelm/Rainier: 37 units, $490,000.
▪ Lacey: 23 units, $485,000.
▪ West Olympia: 20 units, $514,750.
▪ Tumwater: 20 units, $547,475.
▪ Northeast Thurston: 19 units, $579,000.
▪ North Olympia: 16 units, $459,900.
▪ South Olympia: 16 units, $607,475.
▪ Northwest Thurston: 10 units, $622,500.
▪ Southeast Thurston: Nine units, $649,900.
▪ South Thurston: Nine units, $460,000.
▪ Rochester: Eight units, $456,437.
▪ Black Hills: Seven units, $727,000.
▪ East Olympia: Six units, $573,000.
▪ Boston Harbor: Three units, $460,000.
Source: Northwest MLS.
