July ’22 Housing Market Update: Inventory at Highest Level in 2 Years

It’s been two years since we’ve had as many homes for sale as we have right now. Homes are getting fewer showings and spending longer on the market before they’re bought. Price reductions are more common than they’ve been in a looooong time. The Tri-Cities real estate market is definitely changing. Let’s dive into this month’s numbers.

Tri-Cities Homes for Sale (aka Inventory)

When we did our housing market snapshot on July 6, there were 512 homes for sale across the Tri-Cities. We had a feeling inventory would be up again this month, but that number is definitely higher than expected. Consider this:

• Inventory is up 37% in just one month. We went from 373 homes for sale last month to 512 now.
• Inventory is up 157% year over year. Last July, there were only 199 homes for sale across the Tri-Cities!
• The last time we had this many homes for sale was two years ago — in August 2020, our snapshot showed 529 homes for sale.

As you can see on the top row of the graphic above, inventory is up in all six cities we monitor. Kennewick’s inventory is the highest it’s been since November 2020. Pasco’s is the highest it’s been since February 2020. Richland is at its highest since June 2020.

Here’s more good news for buyers:

• The number of homes for sale (not-new construction) under $300K rose from 19 to 29 in just one month.
• The number of homes for sale (new construction and existing) under $400K rose from 66 to 108 in just one month.

Buyers are well aware of how mortgage rates have risen over the past few months, but as of last week the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was at 5.3% — down from 5.8 percent just a few weeks earlier.

Tri-Cities Home Prices

As you can see above, our median home price ticked up $8,000 to $448,000. When you look at home prices, what you see depends on whether you’re a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty person.

On one hand, prices have gone up four straight months now, and $448,000 is the second-highest median price we’ve ever had across the Tri-Cities. On the other hand, we set a record of $450K four months ago and prices are essentially flat since then.

It’ll be interesting to watch what happens to home prices with our inventory as high as it is now. With more homes to choose from, buyers are less likely to have to write offers above the asking price. Plus, as I point out above, we now have 108 homes available in the sub-$400K price range.

What’s for sure is that the Tri-Cities housing market is changing quickly.

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.)