Who’s buying homes in Thurston County? They’re not from here, data suggests
The Thurston County housing market certainly has headwinds: Higher inflation, higher oil prices – have you purchased gasoline lately? – and higher mortgage interest rates, which were right around 6% earlier this year, hit 6.56% in May.
Despite those challenges, the housing market continues to chug along, including in May, according to new data released this month by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
In fact, sales of single-family residences rose 7.6% between May 2025 and May 2026, the data show. Year to date home sales are up 10.8% over the same period last year.
So what’s driving this buying power? It appears to be buyers from outside the county, according to data compiled by Mitch Dietz, the owner of Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty in Olympia.
Year to date though May, nearly 60% of buyers were represented by brokerages outside the county, his data shows.
Now, information specifically about where those buyers are coming from was not known, but who might consider the county a bargain?
It could be prospective buyers north of Thurston County.
The county median price here was $530,000 in May, according to the Northwest MLS data, but it was $975,000 in King County, $800,000 in Snohomish County and $590,000 in Pierce County.
And one-quarter to one-third of sales still receive multiple offers, Dietz added.
And yet if you’re in the market for a home your options haven’t been this good in some time, he said. That’s because active inventory last month was more than 800 homes, a level not seen since October 2016.
But don’t sit back and wait, he said.
“If you see something you like, act on it,” Dietz said. “The buyer has the most control in a long time.”
As for the seller, make sure the home is prepared and presented for a sale, he said.
“Make those repairs, get professional photographs and make sure it is presenting really, really well,” Dietz said.
Although sales were strong in May, higher mortgage interest rates could change that picture, he said.
As of Thursday, rates had climbed to 6.6%, according to Mortgage Rates Daily.
A closer look at the Thurston County data for May
- Sales of single-family residences rose 7.64% to 338 units last month from 314 units in May 2025.
- Median single-family price fell 3.1% to $530,000 from $547,000 over the same period.
- Pending single-family sales dropped 1.41% to 420 units from 426 units over the same period.
- Condo sales fell to 10 units from 16 units over the same period.
- Condo median price rose to $364,500 from $315,000 over the same period.
- Condo pending sales fell to eight units from 24 units over the same period.
Source: Northwest MLS.
