SPOKANE — The number of homes sold in the state continued to slide in the second quarter, the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University reported today.
The sales of 89,380 homes in the quarter that ended June 30 was 8.5 percent below the sales in the first quarter and 31.7 percent below the second quarter of last year, the center said.
The median sale price in the second quarter was $291,900. That was 7.8 percent below a year ago, the sharpest decline since the center began producing the statistics in 1994.
It was the third consecutive quarter with declines in median prices. The current median price is about the same as that reported two years ago, the center said.
“Buyers see and hear stories about the collapse of the national housing market everywhere, and that makes them afraid to move forward with a purchase,” said Glenn Crellin, center director.
Declining prices don’t necessarily help many buyers, said Jan Ellingson of Burlington, president of Washington Realtors.
“Much of the savings in prices was consumed by higher interest rates, leaving buyers frustrated that they are not benefitting from price declines as they expected,” she said.
Sales declined compared to a year ago in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. But the market was stronger in the second quarter than in the first in eight counties, and unchanged in several others.
The greatest improvements were in Okanogan and Adams counties, where sales nearly doubled. The sharpest quarter-to-quarter declines were in Wahkiakum and Skamania counties, in southwest Washington, where sales dropped more than 60 percent.
King County, the state’s largest, had the highest sales, with 21,340 homes.
Median prices ranged from $111,000 in Adams County to $570,000 in San Juan County. Among urban markets, the range was $153,100 in Yakima County to $450,000 in King County.
Home prices are not declining everywhere. Fourteen counties reported higher median prices than a year ago, led by a 5.3 percent jump in Chelan County. The biggest decline among large counties was 8.9 percent in Kitsap County.
While a sales time of five to seven months is considered a balanced market, homes are averaging 11.1 months on the market, suggesting prices will decline further, the center said.
The statewide affordability index was at 95.5 for the second quarter, meaning that a median-income family has about 95 percent of the income required to qualify for a conventional mortgage.
The most affordable local housing market was in Benton County with an index of 171.7, while San Juan County continued to offer the least affordability with an index of 43.6.
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