Grant County housing market looks up
The median price of a single family home in Grant County last year was $156,000, according to a recent Northwest MLS report.
MOSES LAKE - Grant County's housing market showed signs of improvement last year as home sales for the year passed 2012 levels.
Sales increased by 22 percent between 2012 and 2013, according to year-end data recently released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
The Kirkland-based organization currently serves 21 counties in the state. Its Grant County membership includes 147 real estate brokers from 28 different companies.
In 2012, 566 single-family homes and condominium units were sold throughout the county. Last year, realtors recorded 691 closed sales. Of the 691 units sold in 2013, 680 were single-family homes and 11 were condo units, according to the data.
The median price of a single-family home in Grant County last year was $156,000, up from the median price in 2012 of $154,950. The median price of a condo unit in 2013 was $171,000, a 23 percent change from the median price in 2012 of $137,975.
Median price means that half of the homes or condos sold for more than that amount, while half sold for less.
Across the 21 counties, Northwest MLS members reported 75,517 closed sales in 2013, up 17 percent from the 11,000 transactions reported in 2012. Sales of single-family homes and condos were valued at almost $25.5 billion last year, a 27.4 percent increase from 2012, according to the Northwest MLS.
Total closed sales in 2013 included 65,122 single-family homes and 10,395 condo units.
"The total units and dollar volume are at the best since 2007 when members registered 82,197 sales valued at $32.3 billion," read the Northwest MLS report.
The median price for 2013 sales was $270,000, up just over 10 percent from 2012's median price of $245,000. Median prices ranged from $118,750 in Pacific County to $372,000 in King County, according to the Northwest MLS.
The Northwest MLS report also included a comparison of median prices for single-family homes in each of the 21 counties since 2004.
Grant County's 2013 median price of $156,000 represents a 48 percent change from the 2004 median price of $105,000. Last year, selling prices in Grant County returned to 2007 levels, according to the Northwest MLS.
The median price of a single-family home in Grant County in 2007 was $154,500. The median price peaked in 2010, according to the data, when the median price was $160,000.
According to data, Grant County Northwest MLS members also reported 1,256 new listings in 2013, up 10 percent from 1,139 new listings in 2012.
Monthly statistical recaps for the last two months also show year-over-year gains in new listings. Last December, brokers reported 53 new listings in Grant County, up from the 40 new listings reported in December 2012.
There were also 54 closed sales last December, up 8 percent from closed sales in December 2012. The median price last December was $158,000, compared to the median price in December 2012 of $147,500.
In January, Grant County Northwest MLS members reported 86 new listings, while they reported 73 new listings in January 2013.
Closed sales dropped this January, when brokers reported 43 closed sales compared to the 47 closed sales reported in January of 2013. The median price last month was $149,000, a 6 percent change from January 2013 when the median price was $139,990.
According to January 2014 data, Grant County has almost 10 months of housing inventory.