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Walla Walla Real Estate Update – October 2016
Low interest rates and slightly higher inventory levels are keeping buyers active in the Walla Walla Valley this fall. Through October, closed sales remained 11% ahead of last year’s pace and pending sales increased by 6%.
The number of homes listed for sale in October increased by 1.5% over the previous month. At the current rate of sales there are approximately 3.24 months of inventory in the valley. Walla Walla’s median sales price remained 13% ahead of last year. While the market remained a seller’s market, Walla Walla continued to have more inventory then most communities in Washington State.
Overall, Walla Walla is having a great year for Real Estate. Thus far, the Walla Walla Valley is on track to experience the most active real estate market in 10 years.
October’s Listings: 348
The number of homes listed for sale grew 1.5% over the previous month and 2% over the number of homes listed for sale 12 months ago.
October’s Closings: 58
Monthly closings declined 39% from the previous month but remained 31% higher than October’s closings for the previous year.
October’s Median Price: $214,496
The median price declined from the previous month but equaled the current year’s median price.
Click here for October’s charts.
*WWMLS WA Data
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – August 2016
August’s homes sales topped 80 sales making it the third consecutive month to hit that mark. Though the first 8 months of the year, sales were 6% ahead of last year’s pace during the same period. Buyer’s continued to enjoy low interest rates and pending sales – homes under contract but not yet sold – held steady with the previous month.
The number of homes listed for sale held steady with the previous month but after 20 consecutive months, the trend of year-over-year listing declines ended. August’s listings were 10% higher than the same month a year ago. At August’s rate of sales, the listing inventory for our whole MLS was 3.5 months and just 2.74 months for the Cities of Walla and College Place.
Due to low inventory level’s, Walla Walla’s median price remained 12% higher than last year. While our market’s inventory levels remained low for us, we continued to have more inventory than most communities in Washington State.
Current activity indicates Walla Walla’s real estate market will remain busy this fall.
August’s Listings: 379*
The number of homes listed for sale held steady with the previous month but was 10% higher than August of 2015.
August’s Closed Sales: 82*
August’s homes sales increased by 2% over the previous month and held steady with August of 2015.
August’s Median Price: $214,500*
August’s median price dropped 11% from the previous month and ended closer to the current year’s median price of $212,456.
Click here for August’s charts.
*WWMLS WA Data
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – July 2016
Home sales kept up their robust pace in July and pending sales – homes under contract but not yet closed – grew by 6%. Annual home sales are now 7% ahead of last years pace.
Walla Walla’s listing inventory grew slightly over the previous month but the trend of year-over-year inventory declines continued. In the cities of Walla Walla and College Place, listing inventory dropped slightly below the 3 month range as the market moved more strongly to a sellers market.
July’s median sales price increased to $242,032, the highest of the year. The increase was caused by lower inventory levels and by more homes selling in the upper price ranges. On the year, Walla Walla’s median price is $212,164 – a 12% increase over last year’s median price.
While rising prices create affordability concerns, low interest rates have kept buyers active. As we've reported, what happens through the rest of the year will depend largely on interest rates and listing inventory.
July’s Listings: 380*
July’s listings increased by 2% over the previous month. While the monthly trend of year over year listing declines continued, the gap was just 1% lower.
July’s Closed Sales: 80*
While June was the busiest closing month of the year, July became the 2nd busiest. July’s closings were 10% ahead of the same month a year ago.
July’s Median Price: $242,032*
July’s median price rose 5% over the previous month as more homes in the upper price ranges sold.
Click here for July Charts.
*WWMLS WA Properties
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – June 2016
June marked the busiest closing month of the year. At the halfway point of 2016, Walla Walla’s home sales remained 5% ahead of last year's pace. June's closing activity led to declines in pending sales and listing inventory.
Pending sales – homes under contract but not yet closed – declined by 16% in June and after four consecutive monthly gains, the number of homes listed for sale declined by 3%. Yet Walla Walla’s inventory remained in the 3 month range. While this level of inventory was low for Walla Walla, it remained above the inventory levels found in most communities in our state.
Through the first half of the year, Walla Walla’s median price was 9% above last year, but low interest rates have kept homes reasonably affordable. As we’ve reported, what happens to our local market through the rest of they year will be impacted by our listing supply and interest rates.
June’s Listings: 373*
June’s listing supply declined 3% from the previous month and remained 5% lower than June of last year.
June’s Closed Sales: 85*
June’s closings swelled 39% over the previous month and beat out June of last year by 2%
June’s Median Price: $230,000*
June’s median price was the highest of the year. More homes closed above $400,000 than any previous month this year.
Click here for June 2016 Charts
*WWMLS WA Data
Photograph courtesy of Christina Kennell Photography
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – May 2016
New contract activity and listing inventory grew in May. Pending sales – homes under contract, but not yet closed – increased by 22% over the previous month. The number of closed home sales held steady with the previous month, but declined from the number of closings that occurred in May of 2015. Still, year-to-date sales are ahead of last year's pace by 5%.
The number of homes listed for sale in May grew by 7% over the previous month. The trend of year-over-year listing declines also continued, but the gap narrowed to just 2% fewer. While the number of listings in Walla Walla are lower than previous years, we are still not experiencing the extreme lows of many metropolitan areas, including many neighborhoods on the west side of our state. Therefore, price gains are more modest in Walla Walla. For the year, our median price is 6.6% higher than the previous year.
While some buyers may wish they had more inventory to chose from, favorable interest rates and modest inventories have kept them active through the first five months of 2016.
May's Listings: 386
May's listings increased by 7% over the previous month. Approximately one third of the total active listings are under contract.
May's Closed Sales: 61
May's home sales held steady with the previous month.
May's Median Price: $213,000
May's median price increased from the previous month. For the year, Walla Walla's median price is $202,664.
*WWMLS WA Data
Click here for May 2016 Charts
Photography courtesy of Christina Kennell Photography.
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – April 2016
April home sales rose 7% higher than April’s sales in 2015. Walla Walla’s annual home sales continued to outpace last year by 15%. New contract activity continued to increase as well. Pending sales – homes under contract not yet closed – grew by 27% during the month of April.
Seller’s looking to capitalize on the active market listed more homes in April. Monthly listing inventory grew 10% over the previous month. However, April’s total listings were still 9% less than a year ago. Approximately one third of Walla Walla's active listings are under contract.
The month's median price declined, yet Walla Walla’s annual median price was up 5% from 2015’s median price. This was a modest increase when compared to many parts of the country that continued to experience inventory levels well below Walla Walla’s.
As we have mentioned previously, what happens the rest of the year depends largely on inventory levels and interest rates. So far, so good…our inventory has experienced 3 consecutive monthly gains and interest rates have remained low.
April's Listings: 359*
The trend of year-over-year listing declines continued. April had 35 fewer homes listed for sale than were available in April of 2015.
April's Closed Sales: 62*
April experienced a slight monthly decline in home sales, but brought the yearly total to 230 sales compared to just 200 homes sales during the same period of last year.
April's Median Price: $182,868*
April’s median price dropped from the previous month as more homes in the lower price ranges closed.
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – March 2016
March was the most active month yet this year for home sales in Walla Walla. Total sales for the first quarter ended 6% above last year's pace. Buyers were lured by low interest rates and a modest uptick in inventory levels. In spite of the active closing month, March’s listings increased slightly from the previous month. However, the trend of year-over-year listing declines continued. Listing inventory dropped 11% below March of last year. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says “looking ahead, the key for sustained momentum and more sales than last spring is a continuous stream of new listings.” For now in Walla Walla, it appears that buyers are more than ready for spring’s busy listing season to begin.
March Listings: 326*
March’s listing inventory grew 1% over the previous month. However, there were 39 fewer homes listed for sale than were available 12 months ago.
March Home Sales: 60*
March saw an increase of 20 home sales over the previous month. Pending home sales – under contract, not yet closed – held steady with the previous month. One third of March's 326 listings are under contract.
March Median Price: $218,250*
Median prices surged 11% over the previous month. The increase was caused by more homes closing in the upper price ranges and by annual declines in listing inventory.
Click here for March 2016 Charts
*WWMLS WA Data
Photo provided by : Christina Kennell Photography
Walla Walla Real Estate Update – February 2016
February’s homes sales slowed a bit from January’s hot pace, but through the first two months of the year, Walla Walla’s closed sales were still 11% ahead of last year. Buyers remained very active writing new contracts. Pending sales – homes under contract, but not yet closed – grew by 31% over the previous month.
After 4 consecutive monthly listing declines, the number of homes listed for sale in February grew by 10% over the previous month. However, the trend of year-over-year declines in the number of listings continued.
With more sales and less inventory then a year ago, median prices moved up 4% over February of last year. What happens to prices going forward will depend on how low our listing inventory gets. However, we expect our listing inventory to grow as we move into spring, which is typically the busiest listing time of the year.
February’s Listings: 322*
Listings gained 10% over the previous month, but remained 3% below February of last year. At February’s rate of sales, Walla Walla’s monthly inventory increased to just over 4 months.
February’s Home Sales: 40*
February’s sales declined by 20% from the previous month, but still brought Walla Walla’s year-to-date total sales to 90, an 11% annual gain over the same period a year ago.
February’s Median Sales Price: $196,450*
February’s Median Sales Price declined 3% from the previous month, but was 4% higher than February of last year.
Click here for February 2016 Charts
*WWMLS WA Data
Photo provided by Christina Kennell Photography
