Happy Thanksgiving!

 I'm taking this week off, have a great weekend!

What is the typical 3/2 1500 squares cost?

Locally the prices can vary wildly for the same basic house. Median home prices reflect the broad market so an expensive area with a high quantity of large expensive homes may have an exaggerated median price. Likewise, a community with a large inventory of smaller older homes may have a disproportionate low median home price. I decided to look at homes in several areas of Clark County to compare like houses. The target as the title suggests 3 beds, 2 baths, 1500 squares on lots between 5000-10000 square feet. To facilitate decent search results beds and baths can vary but square footage and lot size are fixed at 1400-1600 and 5000-10,000 respectively. These are typical starter homes in suburban neighborhoods. Some of the more affluent areas had very few listings in this size range. Average price last 6 months.

• Vancouver: Downtown/Uptown/Fruit Valley/Hudson Bay $477,000
• Vancouver: Hazel Dell $486,000
• Vancouver: Felida/LakeShore $526,000
• Vancouver: Salmon Creek/Mt Vista $507,000
• Vancouver: Minnehaha/Walnut Grove $499,000
• Vancouver: Van Mall/Ogden/Bagley Downs $465,000
• Vancouver: West Heights $500,000
• Vancouver: Rose Village/Fourth Plain Village $365,000
• Vancouver: East Heights $457,000
• Vancouver: Evergreen Highway/Riverside $687,000
• Vancouver: Evergreen/Burnt Bridge Creek $446,000
• Vancouver: Cascade Park $509,000
• Vancouver: Fishers Landing $566,000
• Vancouver: Five Corners/Orchards/Sifton $498,000
• Camas: Prune Hill $619,000
• Camas: Oak Park $433,000
• Camas: Downtown $558,000
• Camas: Lacamas Shores/Lacamas Park $668,000
• Washougal: Westside $622,000
• Washougal: Eastside $446,000
• Battle Ground: NW $481,000
• Battle Ground: SW $484,000
• Battle Ground: NE $518,300
• Battle Ground: SE $549,000
• Ridgefield: North $614,000
• Ridgefield: South $646,000
• La Center $561,000
• Yacolt $469,000

There is a 50% swing in pricing depending on the neighborhood. But in many neighborhoods a decent 1500 square foot house can be had for well under $500,000.

Are the holidays good for real estate?

 Originally posted December 9th, 2022:

I mention this every year, yes holidays are good for real estate. Both buyers and sellers during the holidays tend to be very serious about buying and selling. This is not a time that people "want" to be involved in a real estate transaction nor enduring the time and energy required to either buy or sell a property. Most people would rather be spending time with the family and engaging in traditional holiday activities. 

This tends to lead to slower activity in real estate. But as I mention every year, December can be a busy month and people engaging in real estate this month are generally very serious and in some cases "need" to move. Both parties tend to be motivated to make the deal work and this can be good for all parties. Sellers need to make sure they keep their property clear of snow, mud, leaves, and other late autumn, early winter issues. Clean out the rain gutters and keep the house as presentable as possible during the darkest and wettest months of the year. Seller also should make sure all the light bulbs work inside the house and keep all the lights on during showings. Light and bright sells homes.

Buyers need to remember that this time of year may lead to some days or times that the seller cannot or will not show the property, flexibility could be the key to finding the right house. The slower conditions during the holidays also means that things like appraisals, and inspections may be easier to book in a timely fashion. 

Both buyers and sellers however should also be mindful that their are more scheduled holidays, days, off and such in the supporting industries like, title and escrow, lending, and such that can cause some minor delays. 

The holidays can be a great time to buy or sell, yes it is inconvenient to deal with all the fuss during this family oriented time, but it can lead to opportunities that may not present themselves in other seasons.

Inventory in Clark County remains steady at about 3 months.

The old rule of thumb for the market is that about 4-6 months inventory is a healthy neutral market. Less than less than 4 months favors sellers and more than 6 favors buyers. With about 3 months active inventory we remain firmly in a sellers market. The number of buyers however is not enough to produced extreme price pressure. We are seeing healthy and modest price appreciation. Overpriced listings or homes that need a lot of work are sitting for more than 2 months, while well priced homes tend to sell in less than a month. 

This is truly a nice, steady, and healthy real estate market. Rates are settling down a bit and if the economy perks up a little in the upcoming year wages may outpace real estate pricing and make things a little more affordable. 

I am seeing 1990s homes in decent shape selling for the low to mid 400s with 3-4 beds and sometimes north of 2000 SF. You won't find a perfect, fully remodeled home in this range but something that is move in ready but a bit dated, you sure can.

 

Clark County Ranked 4th most expensive county in Washington

A recent study released showed Clark County Washington as the 4th most expensive county in the state. The report looked at more than just housing but certainly housing plays a big role in the cost of living. The counties deemed more expensive than Clark were San Juan at #3, Snohomish at #2, and of course the heavyweight King County at #1.

With rates relaxing a bit many buyers can now afford a home that just a year ago was out of reach. Trending into 2025 if these softer rates continue we could see a return to more robust sales in the market. I suspect that this will be both and increase in listings and buyers so prices should see modest growth. These market periods with double digit annual price appreciation is actually not healthy for the market. It is much better to see modest growth in the 2-5% range that allows incomes to keep up. This is what leads to a sustainable long term healthy market.

Vancouver and Clark County continues to see strong population growth in a region that is slowly losing population overall. Multnomah County has seen a substantial loss of people since the 2020 census. Washington County has been dead flat, and Clackamas has only seen a slight uptick since 2020. Meanwhile Clark has exploded with double digit growth over the last four years.

This is great for our local economy. More and more people moving in will help drive local business and bring in employers as well.

It is looking good in Clark County and 2025 has a lot of excellent possibilities.