05/8

The effervescent hum of spring and the sweet smell of cherry blossoms usually generates speed for the housing market here in Yakima Valley. The days get longer, our lawns wake up, and more of us start looking for a house to call home. We earned our excitement this year. The unexpected “Snowmaggedon” hindered most of Central Washington’s housing Market putting anxious buyers and sellers on pause until our Valley could thaw. Although slower than many first predicted, here are the stats to the first quarter of our housing market year.

The first quarter of 2019 ended with low interest rates and an increase in home inventory for Yakima County. Our current market is far closer to last years than originally predicted.

As March came to an end, 30-year fixed rate loans dropped from 4.46 percent at the start of the year to 4.27 percent, mirroring interest rates from February 2018. FreddieMac is forecasting the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to average 4.5 percent this year and increase to 4.8 percent by 2020.

The median home value in Yakima is $225,900, an increase of 10.6 percent over the past year, and the average home listing price is at $247,950. Homes are averaging 61 days on the market and inventory is moving 15 percent faster than last year. Which is surprising considering the massive snowfall.

In Sunnyside, we see median home values at $178,400, up 11.4 percent since last year, and a possible 6.1 percent increase within the year. Finding a median home listing price at $243,900.

First quarter traditional title sales are at 732 for Yakima County. Slightly lower than last year’s first quarter at 764 sales.

Even with a slight delay, numbers show promise to a healthy start. With Winter in our rear view, we can start picturing our homes with more of that Spring season charm.