Real estate sale pending sign

LONG BEACH — The selling price of south Pacific County houses surged 18.4% this October compared to a year before, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Twenty-six houses sold in the peninsula-Chinook-Naselle area last month for a median price of $402,500, up from $340,000 for 28 single-family residences in October 2023. After a slight dip in February, south county prices have been on a steady upward climb this year.

Median means half sold for more and half for less.

There were 150 houses for sale in south county as October ended, 55% more than the previous year. Last month’s finalized sales were slightly down from October 2023, and there were 23 pending sales, down from 30 the year before.

The south county condo market is showing signs of recovery, with five completed and five pending sales — year-over-year increases of 150%. The median sale price last month was $255,000, a modest gain of 5%. Twenty-two condos remained on the market, 47% more than the year before.

Elsewhere, the county’s second-biggest real estate market, Raymond, had nine completed sales at a median of $249,900, a price decline of 2.3% from the five sales 12 months earlier. An additional 12 sales were pending in Raymond, up from five the year before. And there were 36 active house listings as the month ended, twice as many as in October 2023.

There were scattered sales elsewhere in the county last month, including one each in South Bend, Menlo, Tokeland and Bay Center, and two in Lebam. In all, relatively low prices in the north brought the county’s median house price to $331,250 on 41 sales, about a 1% year-over-year decline. There were 46 pending sales countywide as October ended, a 14% gain. The for-sale inventory was 200 houses, 48% more than the year before. Pacific’s inventory increase was among NWMLS’s five highest, with the others being Lewis, Grant, Clallam and Chelan counties.

Closed sales increased by more than 11% month-over-month in NWMLS’s 26-county region, driven by a brief downturn in mortgage rates and a boost in buyer confidence amid hopes for continued rate declines. However, mortgage rates unexpectedly rose again from 6.08% at the end of September to 6.72% at the end of October, according to the monthly MLS analysis. This increase correlates to economic data including strong job growth numbers but presents challenges for hopeful buyers. Meanwhile, home prices increased by 2.4% month-over-month on average in the NWMLS counties, further dampening optimism.

“The only thing that seems certain about this market is that houses are not becoming more affordable, due to the ongoing combination of high interest rates and rising prices,” said Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) at the University of Washington.

NWMLS statistics don’t include all sales — such as those by owner — but represent a large sample of transactions, especially west of the Cascades.