Real Estate Market on Track for Strong Summer

Despite the current state of our world being what it is, the real estate market is showing no signs of slowing down as we head into summer.

Kittitas county in particular appears to be healthy as ever — home values grew an astonishing 2.9% from April 2019 to April 2020. Read our latest blog post to learn more!

Central Washington real estate market outlook and trends

The coronavirus pandemic created an economic freefall experienced across the country this spring, causing a lot of uncertainties in the real estate market.

At a time when the real estate is gearing up for its hottest season of the year, the country was experiencing record unemployment claims. Some sellers have cancelled their listings, while many opted to wait to list their homes until things settled down.

Here’s the good news: stay-at-home orders are being lifted across the nation and we are finding our new normal as the real estate market shows promise for a strong resurgence this summer.

Summer Will Pick Up Spring’s Slack

Experts predict that the summer will be hotter than usual as it picks up some of traffic that the spring season would have seen.

Chief Economist Danielle Hale, from Realtor.com, told Yahoo Finance, “There are a lot of indicators showing that the summer is going to be a good period for the housing market. I think we’re going to see some of the buying that would have happened in the spring shift into the summer.”

Housing prices and mortgage applications support these predictions.

Mortgage Applications

Heading into the month of March, mortgage rates were starting to rise, making a promise for a spring market with a lot of pent up demand as buyers tried to lock in rates before seeing any additional increases.

However, as the pandemic set in, mortgage rates dropped to a 30 year low. This, in combination with Americans who are ready to resume life despite the pandemic, has caused a surge in mortgage applications.

Data from the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that mortgage applications have increased in the beginning of June by 13% higher than June of 2019.

Housing Prices

Throughout the pandemic, housing values have shown resiliency. In April the median home value in the Cle Elum area increased by 2.9% of the year prior and by mid-May values had increased by 1.8% year over year. Even June saw growth over last year’s performance, finishing the month with a current median home price of

Rising home values coupled with historically low rates and lower available inventory indicate an active and busy summer real estate market.

Here’s a look at how our local market is shaping up:

 May 2019May 2020
Homes Sold91
Median Home Value$338,000$342,000
Avg. Days on Market29

During an unprecedented time, it is reassuring the see the real estate market recovering in this strong of a manner. If you were planning to make a move in real estate this year, the summer is looking to be a great season to do it.

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