So…how’s the market?

By in Tri-Cities Housing Market with 0 Comments

With real estate topics so prevalent in the news these days, that is the question I am most often asked. My answer has been, and remains, “…very very strong, and I see it getting even better.”

My reasoning is simple. Our area is a tremendous value in terms of real estate prices and cost of living. Thos two things attract investors, retirees, and businesses, too.

Throughout my career I’ve worked with many clients from outside of this area that have bought investment property here. In the past four months I’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of inquiries I get from out-of-town buyers. Not only is our real estate significantly less expensive than Seattle and Portland, but it is also less expensive than that of Moses Lake, Spokane, Yakima and Walla Walla.

Many retirees, or soon-to-be-retireees, are buying second homes in our area, with plans of retiring here immediately or in the near future. They’re buying now, before prices go up, and they are attracted because of the low cost of living, no traffic, and year-round golfing.

Finally, non-Hanford businesses are expanding and relocating to our area. This is a trend that has been going on the past few years (i.e., Lowe’s, Amazon, Home Depot, WalMart, etc.). Personally, I believe we are now where Boise Idaho was about 15 years ago. About that time, Boise hit a boom of commercial growth, and what was the biggest advantage they had over us? They had a true four-year anniversary. With WSU?Tri-Cities set to admit freshman in 2007, we now have that integral piece.

I say get ready, our region is on the verge of the greatest time of growth in its history! If you’re already here, congrats! If you’re not here, then get here! What’s stopping you??

(Thanks to R.E .for co-writing!)

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About The Author
Cari McGee

My husband and I came to the Tri-Cities in 1994, and we thought it would be a temporary stop on our way to larger cities. He was a television sports anchor at the time, and we planned to go wherever the "next step up" took us. Twenty-plus years later, we're still here and we've loved every minute of it! We have two children now, and we've found the Tri-Cities area is a wonderful place to raise a family. It's a great place to do outdoorsy things -- I like to hike Badger Mountain or run along the river path. I also love reading ... by a cozy fire in the winter or a beautiful picture window in the summer (with the A/C on!). I've been a licensed Realtor since 2004. I earned my managing broker's license in 2016, which means I can run my own brokerage, or create a team of real estate agents and supervise them, which is exactly what I did when I formed the Cari McGee Real Estate Team in 2018! We have administrative and marketing personnel, as well as additional agents to serve you. I became a director of the Tri-Cities Association of Realtors Board of Directors in 2016, became Secretary/Treasurer of the organization, and was elected to Vice President in 2019. Want to talk about real estate? Click here to schedule a meeting with me!

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