The ever-booming real estate market in the Puget Sound region continues to amaze homebuyers, homeowners, and other market watchers. In a KIRO article last week, Nick Bowman describes how the housing inventory continues to drop while home prices have seen double-digit price increases over the past year.
Other areas in the Pacific Northwest are also seeing skyrocketing prices and plunging inventory. Here is a quick overview of some of them.
In Whatcom County (Bellingham and Blaine), prices were up more than 12% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 2019, according to reporting by KGMI.
Spokane has not seen a rise in prices but continues to have a strong real estate (KREM article) while the Tri-Cities have seen an uptick of about 8% over the past year (Tri-City Herald article).
Portland continues to see a strong real estate market. As detailed by Janet Eastman, neither the ups and downs of the stock market nor the pandemic have made a dent in Portland’s real estate prices as the inventory stands at a paltry 1.3 months (four to six months is considered to be a good balance between a buyer’s market and a seller’s market).
In an article in the Idaho Statesman today, John Sowell says that buyers are flocking from out of state and buying in cash, putting pressure on locals to forgo inspections when buying. The median price in Ada County (Boise) reached a hair under $410K, a record, while neighboring Canyon County hit $310K, up $45K since February.
The Federal Reserve has said interest rates will remain low until at least 2023 (New York Times article), a factor spurring buyers. Whether housing prices will continue strong or not, however, only the future can tell.
