By Living Room Realty, March 15, 2023
New listings drop 45% over last year; prices see slight dip.
Like the weather, housing inventory cooled in Clark County in February, according to a monthly report by the Regional Multiple Listing Service.
Despite the new year seeing a jump in new listings following the holidays, potential buyers were met with fewer homes to choose from last month. Compared with last February, there were almost half the number of listings on the market in February 2023. There were 461 new listings, down more than 45 percent from the same month one year earlier, when there were 842 up for grabs.
“The biggest thing is that a year ago you could buy a house where interest rates were in the 3 percent, and today they are in the 6 percent range. The (decrease in listings) has absolutely caused the affordability to go up tremendously just because the rate has been doubled,” said Living Room Realty broker Scott Cotrell.
Southwest Washington’s housing market also saw a 13.8 percent decrease from the 535 listings available in January. Cotrell found last month’s reduction of listings “surprising,” but he said weather probably played a role, and the area should see more available homes once the weather starts to warm.
“I think a lot has to do with the weather because people are waiting for the springtime to start listing their homes,” he said. “We should see an increase in listings in the spring because we naturally always do — even in a slow market.”
Like the weather, housing inventory cooled in Clark County in February, according to a monthly report by the Regional Multiple Listing Service.
Despite the new year seeing a jump in new listings following the holidays, potential buyers were met with fewer homes to choose from last month. Compared with last February, there were almost half the number of listings on the market in February 2023. There were 461 new listings, down more than 45 percent from the same month one year earlier, when there were 842 up for grabs.
“The biggest thing is that a year ago you could buy a house where interest rates were in the 3 percent, and today they are in the 6 percent range. The (decrease in listings) has absolutely caused the affordability to go up tremendously just because the rate has been doubled,” said Living Room Realty broker Scott Cotrell.
Southwest Washington’s housing market also saw a 13.8 percent decrease from the 535 listings available in January. Cotrell found last month’s reduction of listings “surprising,” but he said weather probably played a role, and the area should see more available homes once the weather starts to warm.
“I think a lot has to do with the weather because people are waiting for the springtime to start listing their homes,” he said. “We should see an increase in listings in the spring because we naturally always do — even in a slow market.”
Reach out to one of our excellent brokers licensed in WA to learn more!
Read the full article by Mia Ryder-Marks via www.columbian.com
