Real estate sale pending sign

LONG BEACH — In August, south Pacific County dwellings sold for a median price 7.8% more than a year before, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

August’s median selling price — meaning half sold for more and half for less — was $360,000 in south county, compared to $645,000 in NWMLS’s overall 26-county region, which is mostly in Western Washington. NWMLS’s statewide August median was 4.9% higher than a year earlier.

Thirty-seven houses sold in south county last month, down from 40 in August 2023. Another 43 sales were pending as the month ended, 17.3% fewer than the year before. The available inventory continued to grow, with 173 houses for sale in the peninsula-Chinook-Naselle area as the month ended, 50% more than last August.

It is a buyer’s market for south county condos, with 32 listed by NWMLS agents at the end of August, more than double the 14 on the market 12 months prior. No condos sold in August and there were no pending sales. Condos are often purchased as vacation properties and are sometimes used as short-term rentals when owners aren’t in them. The growing condo inventory appears to mark the end of a pandemic-era buying spree for such properties.

Elsewhere in the county, Raymond’s much smaller housing market showed resilience in August, with seven completed sales for a median of $300,000. That compared to seven sales at a $260,000 median in August 2023. In addition, there were 14 pending sales, up from nine the year before. Thirty-six houses remained available for purchase in Raymond as the month ended, up 24% year-over-year.

Two houses sold in Tokeland for an average of $270,000 and two sold in South Bend for $280,000. Six other sales were pending in Tokeland and one in South Bend. Only four houses remained available in Tokeland at the end of the month, a 43% decline in inventory, while 10 houses were for sale in South Bend, 67% more than the year before.

Commenting on conditions in the NWMLS area as a whole, a real estate expert said gradually declining mortgage interest rates that might help affordability will be counteracted in many counties by the scarce supply of housing.

“Mortgage interest rates have already started to moderate, dropping to 6.35% (for 30-year terms) at the end of August from this year’s high of 7.22% at the beginning of May,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) at the University of Washington. “Unfortunately, lack of supply is going to continue to be an issue affecting house prices. Single and multi-family permitting dropped off noticeably in 2022 as interest rates ramped upwards, and single-family home prices will likely continue to increase as interest rates drop.”

For those ready to buy on Washington’s south coast, housing continues to be a relative bargain. The combined median price for houses and condos of $332,500 here in August was the lowest west of the Cascades.