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As we report first-quarter real estate activity for the Walla Walla Valley, our state remains under Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. And through these challenging times, our highest priority is the safety of our brokers, our clients, and our community.
Although our local economy felt the impact of COVID-19 in late March, real estate is off to a great start in 2020! First-quarter home sales surged 20% ahead of last year’s pace and the median price increased 6% above 2019’s median price. Most buyers were able to take advantage of low interest rates prior to the volatility experienced in late March.
Enough new listings came on the market during the quarter to replace the ones that sold. This left the number of active listings at the end of the quarter on par with the beginning of the year.
First Quarter’s Average Listings: 193
Number of homes available for sale during the first quarter averaged 9% less than the number available during the first quarter of last year.
First Quarter’s Closed Sales: 155
Closed sales during first quarter increased by 20% over closed sales recorded during the first quarter of last year.
First Quarter’s Median Sales Price: $298,900
The first quarter’s median sales price increased 12% over the median price for the same quarter a year ago. 6% higher than 2019’s median price.
How housing will be impacted due to COVID-19 remains to be seen. Understandably, some buyers and sellers are choosing to wait for these challenging times to pass. Others are choosing to cautiously proceed with their plans to buy or sell.
Windermere brokers are committed to safely helping their clients move their lives forward during these challenging times. To do so, we are following Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order that allows certain real estate activities to occur under the following restrictions:
- In-person customer meetings are prohibited except where necessary to view a property or sign documents
- No open houses
- Property viewings, inspections, and walkthrough must be arranged by appointment
- Limits of no more than two people on-site at any one time, exercising social distancing at all times
To minimize personal contact, we strongly encourage using virtual tours, video chat, and other forms of technology to view homes, stay connected to your broker, and conduct business.
