'Market stalemate'

EPHRATA — The economy has been on a roller coaster ride for the last couple of years, and that includes the housing market in Ephrata.

“It’s not really a buyer’s or a seller’s market at this point,” said Theresa Scheib, owner of Patrick Real Estate in Ephrata.

With interest rates at 6-7%, buyers are being more picky and more likely to negotiate, she said, but there is not enough inventory to create a true buyer’s market.

It’s not entirely a seller’s market either, she said, because the interest rates also dictate how much people can spend. A homeowner who wants to sell will have to come down to meet what the buyers can actually afford.

“That 6-7% interest rate takes like 200 grand off the sales price,” she said.

Purchase power isn’t where it should be to sway in favor of either buyers or sellers, she said. Interest rates lower purchasing power, but inventory is also low, so supply and demand can’t be met, she said. That stalemate makes predicting the future hard, she said.

“I’ve got sellers holding on, not really wanting to sell because they want this much money and then their head has been told for the last three years you can just put a house on the market,” she said. “If you do (comparable homes) it looks like it comps at like $25,000 or $50,000 less, but you stick it up there, and it gets sold because people didn’t have many choices and interest rates were low.”

With interest rates where they are, buyers are less willing to push the envelope and sellers are no longer able to gain equity from people purchasing more expensive houses, she said.

“Now you have to comp it where it needs to sell, like find the sales price and see what other things are sold at,” she said.

People will still post the price they can sell at and then have to bring the price down to make a sale, she said.

This isn’t a sign of a crash coming, Scheib said, but there will be a lot more adjustments in the market. Prices went up so much and so fast that it will take time to settle, she explained.

Despite all of this, Scheib said, the best advice for potential home buyers is to buy now. The prices are still low and when the market adjusts, the prices will begin to soar again, she said.

“Interest rates suck, but they can be remortgaged down the road if they go down,” she said. “Traditionally, a 5-6% interest rate was fairly good. I think people got spoiled by that 2 ½-3% where they thought that was the norm, and it's not.”

It also is a good time to buy now as the results of next year’s election could affect the market, Scheib said. Rates are also predicted to stabilize a little.

“I had someone who qualified at 7.1% a month ago and they just redid it and something changed and they’re at the low sixes now,” she said.

Scheib recommended that potential sellers just keep at it and try not to get frustrated. Eventually, there will be a buyer who will take the offer if it is reasonable, she said.

“It’s just a weird market right now, it really is,” she said. “Things are selling in a certain price point around the $250k area and things that are priced correctly, they’re selling.”

For either a buyer or a seller, it’s important to be mindful, she said. Due diligence and research can go a long way in helping find the right prices.

“Find an agent that you trust and are confident in, and a lender. All of those will help you,” she said. “Especially as a buyer, use an agent because you’re not paying for it and they’ll be the most help to get you in the properties and get the right forms.”

Caleb Perez is a graduate of both Moses Lake High School and Big Bend Community College and works as a freelance writer for the Columbia Basin Herald.