February 2026 Real Estate Market Update: Sales Slow as More Homes Hit the Market

I know I said this last month, but I have to say it again: This month’s Tri-Cities market update is pretty normal, but there’s one surprise.

Namely, what’s up with that 2% rise in homes for sale?

I’ll explain what’s surprising about that, and why a big drop in sales activity isn’t a surprise, as we unpack this month’s numbers below.

Active Tri-Cities Listings

When we did our snapshot on Feb. 5, there were 998 homes for sale. That’s 2% more homes for sale than a month ago, and that’s unusual.

Since we started tracking local sales data in late 2018, the number of homes for sale has always gone down in February. Always! Inventory, as we call it, usually drops from about November until March/April.

It’s not alarming, it’s just unusual. It looks like new construction is largely responsible for the increase. There are 21 more homes on the market this month than last, and 16 of those are new construction.

We continue to have a lot more inventory now than a year ago. Those 998 homes for sale are 27% more than in January 2025.

Also of note: West Richland’s inventory of homes for sale dropped below 100 for the first time since October.

Home Sales

Sales last month dropped 32% month-over-month, but that’s perfectly normal for this time of year. Closings in January typically involve homes that would’ve gone under contract in November-December, and that’s usually a slow time in real estate (for obvious reasons). A year ago at this time, sales dropped 25% — so this 32% decline isn’t unusual.

What’s important is the combination of this drop in sales with the rise in inventory. When you put together 998 active listings with 202 sales last month, you have about five months of inventory. In real estate, we call this the “absorption rate” — i.e., how long it takes to absorb all available homes at our current rate of sales. The Tri-Cities hasn’t had a five-month absorption rate in all the years we’ve been tracking sales data.

Home Prices

Despite the unusual rise in inventory and the big drop in sales, Tri-Cities home prices just keep chugging along, steady as they go. Our median sales price last month was $420,000, down less than $5K from December. It’s also about 2% down from a year ago, when the median price was $428,512.

Of note: Kennewick’s median fell for the third straight month and came close to dipping below $400K. That hasn’t happened in exactly one year — the median in January 2024 was $399,990.

To sum up: Overall, it’s a pretty normal market for winter. But with almost five months of inventory, the Tri-Cities is closer to being a buyer’s market than it’s been in a long time. Buyers have a lot to choose from and have more control over the process. Sellers, if you want your home to sell, get it in tip-top shape, price it right, be patient, and willing to negotiate.

As always, please get in touch if you have questions about what’s happening around town or in your specific neighborhood. Use the TEXT US tool below to send a text, call us at (509) 392-4705, or contact me via email — whatever’s best for you!

(*Remember that days on market can sometimes be skewed by how new construction homes are processed in the MLS. )