Overall the year of 2011, was a good year especially for the lower end of the market in the Tri-Cities of Washington State. Sales below $175,000 were generally in a Seller’s Market situation. Homes priced above $475,000 were challenged to find buyers unless it was new construction. We experienced over two years of supply in this range. Pre-owned homes in this price range will have to be in exceptional condition and be the best value to attract home buyers in 2012. Our sales for 2011 were 12.7% less than the year prior. Considering we had no federal stimulus funding during 2011, this is a respectable sales level. For those homes selling, it took a little longer to find buyers. The days on the market increased from 60 days during December 2010 to 94 days during December 2011.
The truly exceptional news is new homes continue to account for about 20 percent of our home inventory and the median sales price continues to climb. I reviewed five years of data to evaluate median sale prices. The chart below indicates median sale prices rising from $162,990 during 2007 to $190,000 during 2011. Real estate agents in other areas of the Pacific NW are amazed at our continued climb while they are experiencing declining markets.
