Thurston County home sales data for February looked a lot like it has for months: low inventory, combined with buyer demand, particularly from outside the county, which sent the median price higher by another double-digit margin.
Not even COVID-19, or coronavirus, has slowed the market, a real estate professional said Thursday.
“We have seen no effect,” said Steve Garrett, owner and designated broker of Windermere Olympia.
Prospective buyers, though, might be hoping for anything to shift the market in their favor because it still tilts drastically toward sellers.
February’s inventory of single-family homes was 45 percent lower than it was a year ago, meaning at the current pace of sales it would take about a month to exhaust the supply of homes for sale, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Thursday.
Garrett, who has worked in real estate for 42 years, said this is unprecedented.
“I’ve never seen inventory so low,” he said, adding it has created some serious problems for buyers. He gave this example: His office recently received two new listings, both for less than $300,000. One house received seven offers, the other, 11, he said.
It’s a problem for buyers and brokers, he said. “There’s not enough inventory to sell,” Garrett said.
That might explain why sales fell 5 percent last month from the same period a year ago, the data show.
But if the February numbers were unaffected by coronavirus, what might the March results look like? Garrett said it is too early to tell.
Lakewood-based Allen Realtors designated broker Mike Larson offered this perspective: Investors have turned to the bond market in the short term, which has pushed mortgage interest rates lower, he said.
“In the long term, this virus could start to wear on overall consumer confidence, which is never good for real estate markets,” Larson said.
Thurston single-family home data for February
▪ Sales fell 5.2 percent to 275 units last month from 290 units in February 2019.
▪ Median price rose 12.3 percent to $365,900 from $325,850.
▪ Pending sales grew 8.2 percent to 422 units from 390 units.
Thurston condo data for February
▪ Sales fell to 10 units last month from 11 units in February 2019.
▪ Median price rose 6.7 percent to $218,750 from $205,000.
▪ Pending sales rose to 20 units from 10 units.
Rolf has worked at The Olympian since August 2005. He covers breaking news, the city of Lacey and business for the paper. Rolf graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1990.
