The local housing market is surpassing last year in total sales and the total inventory of homes for sale is approximately similar to the prior year. The data indicates that had a homebuyer waited one year to purchase, the buyer would be paying more based upon increases in both average and median sale prices. Sixteen percent of the market is new home construction. Buyers continue to desire new homes over previously owned homes.
Which cities are most active in real estate sales? To answer this question, I evaluated pending sales and total homes for sale in each market. The graph below indicates that the active market is West Richland with 35% of the inventory pending sale while Richland is the slowest market with 22% pending sales.
The absorption rate based upon a three month average indicates 7.1 months of inventory. This is a slight Buyer's Market. Since new homes are most active, previously owned homes are taking much longer to sell. Presently we have over two year supply of homes priced above $375,000.
