Pending home sales jump nationally by 8.2 percent

MOSES LAKE - Agreed upon offers for homes, or pending sales, jumped by 8.2 percent from April to May in the United States, reports the National Association of Realtors.

The home sales index figure is 13.4 percent higher when compared to May 2010, according to the association.

The improvement is significant because such gains haven't been seen since April 2010.

Art Castle, interim executive director of the Building Industry Association of Washington, said some of the gains may be seasonal.

"Usually you get better home sales in the spring and summer," he commented. "Whatever the reason is, it's good news to help stabilize the housing market."

It is also important for local and state governments to increase their revenues.

Washington state is one of the few states in the country that has sales tax on labor and materials from new construction, Castle said.

"When new construction comes online, they get to add the whole bump the first year," he commented.

One of the reasons some of the local and state governments have such a hard time is because construction activity is down, he said.

He is told the housing market is slow in Washington state by others in the industry.

There is still more inventory than demand, he pointed out.

In Eastern Washington, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Wenatchee and Central Washington have strong markets.

"I think Tri-Cities is the strongest market in the state," Castle said. "Most of Western Washington markets are a lot softer than Eastern Washington markets," he said.

Castle predicts the state will improve.

"We're just turning the corner really slow," he said. "I did see a national news article which showed everyone felt the housing market has sort of bottomed and will only get better from here. There is not much continuing reduction in values and not much risk of housing values continuing to slide. It's a good time to start looking again."

Mark Fancher, an owner/manager at Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Ranch and Home in Moses Lake, said the market in the Columbia Basin is different than the national market.

The Columbia Basin market is improving, he said.

"I would say our real estate market is more stable and there are pockets of our market that are still staying stable," Fancher said.

Grant County offers slow and steady growth, with industrial construction and expansion.

"Our county and city are doing really well in general," Fancher said. "The market is definitely better now than last year. The rates are still good and the pricing is right. There are a lot of good reasons to buy."

People appear to be proceeding with caution when considering home purchases.

One must remember real estate is a long term investment and things are going to move on a long-term pace, he said.

In Moses Lake, he estimated home equity is created after roughly seven years of ownership.

"As long as this county and community continue to grow, I don't see why this wouldn't continue to happen," Fancher commented.

At the same time, the real estate market is a hard crystal ball to read.

"We're connected to so many different things," he said. "We need companies and businesses to be successful for real estate to be successful."