Median home price in Pierce County remains over half a million. Good luck finding one
Pierce County saw its median closed home sale price on existing homes drop in September from the previous month, but prices remain much higher than compared with the same time last year.
According to the latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service, September median closed sale price was $506,650, more than 16 percent over last September’s price of $434,999, but a drop from August 2021’s $515,000.
Listings for residential and condo combined were up more than 11 percent over last year, the bulk of that being single-family homes. Condo listings alone, though were down more than 33 percent over last year, with the median closed sale prices for condos at $350,000, up 16.67 percent from last year and also up from August 2021’s $340,000.
Inventory overall remains tight. Pending condo sales were down more than 14 percent from last year’s total, while single-family home sales were down slightly.
Pierce County ranked third in terms of median sale prices for homes among the counties listed by NWMLS. King County’s median closed sale price was $825,600, while Snohomish County was at $675,000.
Kitsap County was at $500,000.
In the news release accompanying September’s figures, J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, noted the number of mutually accepted offers in the Puget Sound region (King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties) “made last month the MLS’ second-best September, based on records going back to 2003.”
In an analysis released ahead of the NWMLS report, Scott reported that Pierce County was “virtually sold out to the $1 million price point.” Whereas in Gig Harbor, “the market is virtually sold out of homes priced up to $3 million.”
Dick Beeson, the managing broker at RE/MAX Northwest in Tacoma-Gig Harbor, noted in the NWMLS release that the year-over-year rates of real estate appreciation at 16 percent and higher can’t be sustained.
“It will bankrupt us,” Beeson said.
Kellie Van Essen with John L. Scott Tacoma University Place office told The News Tribune in response to questions that there are some subtle changes happening in the local market, but that if a home is “appropriately priced at market value when it’s put on the market, the seller should have an offer within a couple of days.”
The delay, though is in closing.
“Regarding closings, most closings are taking approximately 30 to 45 days due to a shortage of appraisers in certain areas,” Van Essen noted. “Those who are putting in cash offers that are accepted are seeing closings take around 10 days.”
Dreams of getting rich quick are driving not-so-realistic prices in some cases.
“Lately, we have been seeing some homes going on the market at inflated prices that are not realistic and don’t reflect the current market,” Van Essen wrote. “This typically means the listing agent will have to do a significant price reduction in order to get the home sold. Starting in August, we began noticing that the local market was leveling out due to the increase in price reductions we’ve been seeing.”
She added, “While the market is still very hot and competitive, the list price for a home still needs to be reasonable given the home’s unique features and comparable home sales in the area.”
The latest home sales figures come on the heels of a recent rent comparison report that also showed Tacoma apartments as still more affordable than competitors in Seattle suburbs, but also rising faster than other cities.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
