Jan. ’22 Housing Market Update: Median Price Climbs Back to $400K

I’m hesitant to ever read too much into the market stats that we share every January. That’s because the numbers are a reflection of what happened when most of us are more focused on the holidays than anything else. Once we get to Thanksgiving and then into December, a lot of buyers and sellers put a hold on their plans. (Whether that’s a good idea is a totally different conversation, but it’s true that many do — and it’s understandable, too.)

So with all that said, I’ll invite you not to read too much into this month’s report, either. January’s market stats are a good starting point to see where the market is and where it might be headed for the rest of the year.

Inventory is Down Again

After seven straight months of rising inventory, we finally had a drop. As of January 5, there were 383 homes for sale across the Tri-Cities. It’s down 14% from last month, but it’s also more than double the inventory we had as recently as June. Those 383 homes have a median list price of $561,850 and have spent a median of 71 days on the market.

What is a bit concerning is that 249 of those homes (65%) are new construction — homes that you can’t move into right away. We’d definitely like to see more move-in ready homes on the market for buyers who are looking and need a place sooner rather than later.

This is interesting, too: Those 249 new construction homes have a median price of $594,900. The other 134 available homes have a much lower median price of $442,000. Speaking of home prices…

Median Home Prices are Back Up to $400K

Back in September, we hit an all-time record when the Tri-Cities’ median home price reached $400,000 for the first time. We tied that record this month. Still, as I pointed out last month, home prices overall are mostly unchanged since the summer. The median price back in June was $389,900.

Of particular note, home prices in West Richland jumped to $497,500 — an all-time high. In fact, no individual city in our area has ever had a month where the median home price reached $500K. There’s a chance that could happen soon in West Richland. It could even happen this year in Richland, where the median price of $454,950 is the second highest we’ve seen there.

As always, please drop us a note if you ever have questions about the housing market here in the Tri-Cities, or even in your specific neighborhood/town/city.

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