‘Sellers still have the upper hand.’ Demand keeps Pierce County home prices high
Ever-dwindling inventory of existing homes for sale in Pierce County continues to keep the median closed sale price above a half-million dollars.
In its November report, Northwest Multiple Listing Service showed Pierce County’s median closed sale price for single-family homes at $515,000, down from October’s $520,000, but 15.73 percent above last year’s median sale price of $445,000.
The number of sales was only slightly higher than a year ago, with the number of active listings up 2.87 percent from November 2020.
For condos, the number of listings was down 31 percent compared with the same time a year ago, yet the number of closed sales was down only a little more than 4 percent from 2020.
The median closed sale price for condos was $350,000, up more than 20 percent from November 2020.
“Waived inspections and funds committed upfront in the event of a low appraisal are not as common, but sellers still have the upper hand,” said Mike Larson, managing broker at Compass in Tacoma and a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors, in Monday’s release. “Buyers still need to be very bold and very intentional with their offers.
“The difference this year is that there are fewer buyers taking a break and demand remains high.”
According to the November report from John L. Scott Real Estate, “Sales activity is strong from $2 million to $3 million,” in the county, and “extreme frenzy” in homes priced up to $1 million.
In Gig Harbor, the agency noted the number of active listings, while not an all-time low, is among the lowest it has been in years.
“The local market is virtually sold out in all price ranges,” with demand reaching up to homes for $3 million.
In Thurston County, it noted, the market was “virtually sold out up to the $1 million price point.”
A separate report compiled by John L. Scott’s data team and drawn from NWMLS data showed the top price increases by percentage this year compared with 2020. Among Pierce County ZIP codes, Fox Island has seen the largest percentage increase year over year in median prices at 36 percent. That was followed by the Ashford/Mount Rainier area with a 27 percent increase and 98439 in the Lakewood area, also at 27 percent.
The 98403 ZIP code in Tacoma was next at 26 percent, followed by the Enumclaw area at 23 percent rounding out the top five.
Kimber Lee is one of two John L. Scott agents who oversaw the recent $6.25 million sale of a Lake Tapps property, so far the most expensive property transaction not set for redevelopment in Pierce County this year.
She recently told The News Tribune she’s not seen any real letup in demand among buyers at all price points, in what’s traditionally the slower fall months.
“I thought that we were going to see an adjustment, but I haven’t noticed it yet,” Lee said.
Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, offered his forecast for what types of price increases would be seen in 2022.
“I predict single family prices will increase by around 8 percent in King and Snohomish counties, and by almost 11 percent in Pierce County,” Gardner said. “Although still well above the long-term averages, affordability issues and modestly rising interest rates will take some of the steam out of the market in 2022.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
