Want to buy a house on Grays Harbor? You're not alone!
House sales in our county have remained strong through the first half of the year with Grays Harbor County a clear seller’s market for three of the past four months, according to Tom Quigg.
Quigg, who founded the Aberdeen and Ocean Shores Windermere Real Estate offices in 1991 and 1992, respectively, examines the county’s real estate market each month, based on data provided by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS).
The Grays Harbor housing units sold in June – 152 – is up 21.6 percent from May and up 2.7 percent compared to June 2017. In addition, the average price houses sold for in Grays Harbor in June was $202,000, up 1.5 percent compared to May and up 9.2 percent compared to last year. The median price was $194,000, up 10.9 percent from June of 2017. (Average price is determined by adding up the total of all sold and dividing by the number sold. The median price is found by lining up all the prices and finding the middle one.)
In the first quarter of this year (January through March), Grays Harbor ranked first out of 15 Western Washington counties for the average sale prices increase – with prices up a remarkable 27.5 percent over the first quarter of 2017. It was also listed second of the 15 counties in the percentage increase in the number of homes sold compared to the year before – up 7.7 percent.
“That was big news for us,” said Quigg. “In all the years I’ve been in real estate, we’ve never ranked so high in any category.”
In the second quarter of the year (April through June), Grays Harbor County still made a great showing, ranking third out of those 15 Western Washington counties for the average sale prices increase – with prices up 17 percent from the second quarter of 2017. It was also listed as tied for third in the percentage increase in the number of homes sold compared to the year before – up 6.7 percent.
Those 15-county statistics come from what is known as The Gardner Report, written by the chief economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner.
Quigg’s monthly report of the housing market in Grays Harbor County breaks down activity in each area of this county.
“One of the most noticeable statistics is that the Average CDOM (Continuous Days on the Market) has been hovering in the 60-day range for May and June,” he said. “In June it was at 66 days, which is down from 83 days in June 2017, a 20.5 percent drop.”
That simply means on average houses around here are being snapped up faster!
“The Aberdeen/Hoquiam area and the Montesano/Elma area remain the communities with the strongest seller’s markets, where increased listing inventory is quickly absorbed,” he said.
The Aberdeen/Hoquiam area has been in a seller’s market for 13 of the past 14 months, while the Montesano/Elma area has been in a seller’s market each of the past 18 months, Quigg said.
In another notable trend, the average sale price in the Ocean Shores/North Beach area has been dropping each month since December 2017, while the number of home sales has been increasing over the same time frame.
“For the most part, the probable cause of the drop in average sales price is simply the increased number of smaller new homes currently constructed at the beaches,” he said.
Overall in Grays Harbor County, in mid-June there was just 2.6 months of inventory on the market, down from 3 months in mid-May and from a high of 4.4 months in mid-February. It is also down 10.4 percent from the 2.9 months of inventory this time last year.
(To determine how many houses in a certain area make a month’s worth of “inventory,” the number of active listings in the Northwest Mulitiple Listing Service is divided by the number of homes sold the prior month. For instance, if 100 homes are currently listed in a given area and last month that area sold 40 homes, then the inventory for that area would be 2.5 months. In other words, it’s how long it would take to deplete the inventory at the current rate of sales.)
THE HARBOR’S ALLURE GROWS
We are once again encouraged by what is happening in the housing market this year and seeing the trend of new construction and people buying homes in Grays Harbor County.
Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty are construction specialists at NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor County, where Murnen is executive director. This is a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe and affordable housing for all residents of Grays Harbor County. For questions about home repair, renting, remodeling or buying, call 360-533-7828 or visit 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen. Our office is fully ADA-compliant.
Do you have questions about home repair, renting, remodeling or becoming a homeowner or one of our contractors? We have rehab loan funds at tailored rates! Call us at 533-7828, write us or visit us at 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen. Our office is ADA compliant, complete with a designated disabled parking spot, ramp and ADA compliant restroom.
