‘Highly motivated’ buyers shrug off pandemic, driving up Pierce County home prices
One economic engine is going full throttle despite Pierce County not being anywhere near a full return to life before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A shortage of existing homes for sale is driving up home prices in the prime summer season at the same time interest rates around 3 percent are luring buyers.
New figures released Monday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported the median closed sale price in June for existing homes (excluding condos) in Pierce County was $410,000, up from $396,550 in May and an 8.9 percent increase over a year ago.
The county also hit $410,00 in March, the month the first COVID-19 case was reported in the county.
Single-family home listings are down more than 47 percent from the same time period in 2019. Pending sales are down only 9.43 percent from a year ago.
At the end of June, there was only 1.16 months of supply system-wide according to NWMLS, the second lowest level in the past decade. The lowest mark, 1.12 months, was in December 2017.
Balanced markets tend to be closer to four- to seven-months’ worth.
The threshold for homes in short supply in the county has now inched up to $750,000, according to an update sent Monday by John L. Scott Real Estate.
That report showed pending sales within the first 30 days of listing was near 89 percent in the $250,000 to $350,000 price range, and just over 84 percent for the $350,000 to $500,000 price range.
“Multiple offers are back with a vengeance as buyers are handicapped by having only about half the inventory of a year ago,” Dick Beeson, managing broker at RE/MAX Northwest in Tacoma-Gig Harbor said in NWMLS’ news release with its report. “If a buyer finds a home they like, it’s likely 20 other people will be vying for it, and the battle is on.”
Joe Bauman, managing broker for John L. Scott Tacoma/University Place office, told The News Tribune in response to questions via email, “It is common for homes in Pierce County, especially those in the more affordable and mid-price ranges, to receive multiple offers with escalation clauses.
“Buyers are frequently getting more aggressive, and it is not uncommon to see inspections waived by motivated buyers.”
He added, “It is going to take a bit of time to move beyond this low inventory cycle.”
Beyond Pierce County, NWMLS said that systemwide 10,709 new listings were added last month, up 838 from May, but still lower than the 11,977 a year ago.
By the end of the month, it was down to 9,670 active listings in the MLS database.
The NWMLS report noted that buying in a pandemic has continued to lean heavily on virtual showings, describing that an Issaquah broker “handled two transactions 100 percent virtually with the buyers purchasing their homes without ever personally stepping inside.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
