Tri-Cities Real Estate Market Update: September 2020

We can’t say this is a surprise: After setting a new record for homes sold last month, this month the inventory crunch got even worse! New homes just aren’t hitting the market as fast as homes are selling.

When we put this housing market update together on Monday, there were only 473 homes available across the cities/towns we track. We’ve been doing these reports since late 2018, and that’s the lowest inventory we’ve seen in any one month. I’m curious to see if the TCAR data later this month shows the same thing. (TCAR measures housing activity beyond just the six cities you see on our report above.)

As you can see, 473 homes is 11% lower than a month ago. But check this out: It’s 34% lower than the inventory we had one year ago. (We had 721 homes on the market in September 2019.) Let’s do a year-over-year comparison for each of the bigger cities in our area:

• Tri-Cities area: 34% lower inventory year-over-year
• Kennewick: 44% lower inventory year-over-year
• Pasco: 37% lower inventory year-over-year
• Richland: 23% lower inventory year-over-year
• West Richland: 18% lower inventory year-over-year

Inventory was already low a year ago, and now it’s significantly worse.

What It Means for Tri-Cities Buyers & Sellers

If you’re thinking about selling, the market needs your home. There are a lot of buyers looking! Now’s not the time to get greedy — you still need to price your home correctly. And your home should be in good shape, too. If it’s not, be prepared to fix what needs to be fixed. And when hit the sweet spot in terms of both price and condition, chances are good that you’ll have a quick sale.

If you’re thinking about buying, you need to be pre-approved and know exactly what you can afford. You also need to be ready to move quickly when you find “the one.” In that extra day you spend thinking about it, chances are good that another buyer will come in and scoop up the home you wanted. And when you write an offer, be ready to write the strongest one you can because you may be competing against other buyers.

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.)