Washington State Real Estate Outlook
The Washington state real estate market, just like the market in the rest of the country, is starting to rally. But prices on average statewide are still down from last year, even though this time last year the market had already fallen hard. Washington state, bordered with Idaho on the east, Oregon on to the south, Canada on the north and the Pacific Ocean on its west coast can be a good place to make a real estate investment, however, if you’re willing to think of it as a long-term investment.
Right now, Washington state home sales are up almost 16% from last year, which is good news. But the median price has dropped almost 8%. Since June, sales have been boosted by a tax credit that most experts believed believe is responsible for the surge in sales, and that without the credit, at least half of the sales wouldn’t have been possible.
Though residential real estate is down 5% in King County, it is up 12% in the last five years and up 58% from the last ten years. The increase in sales and decrease in price are median numbers in Washington state real estate, however. Some areas have shown an increase in the sale prices of homes, like in Skamania County where home prices are up an average of almost 7% and Columbia County where the average home selling price is up a whopping 25% over this time last year.
Another good indicator of the Washington state real estate market is the number of building permits applied for as compared to this time last year. This will show the trend over the coming months as the new constructions are completed. Columbia county, where home sale prices have gone up 25%, has only half the building permits applied for as last year. And since new construction is slow and few are building, the home prices there could continue to stay above last’s year’s numbers. The number of sales is also up 25% over last year.
Thurston county, the home of the capital city, Olympia, only had about a 3% increase in median home selling prices, but had a whopping difference in the number of building permit applications. Almost 50% more permits have been applied for by the end of the third quarter of 2009 than in 2008. It’s hard to predict the trends when you have a tri-cities area like Kennewick, Richland and Pasco in Benton and Franklin counties, which are usually grouped together in Washington state real estate circles, with each city showing drastically different numbers.
Benton county has had about 25% fewer sales than this time last year, with a small 13% decrease in permits, but the price has stayed fairly steady, with only a 0.3% increase. Neighboring Franklin county, however, shows about the same numbers, except in new permit applications which are up 45% over last year.
If you plan to invest in Washington state real estate, it’s important that you look at the purchase as a longer-term investment and not something that you’ll try to flip quickly while the market’s still erratic. If you want to purchase a residence in Washington, looking at the numbers in the area you’d like to live can help you get in with an investment that will improve over time.
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