
By Charlotte Mullen, Windermere Real Estate Ocean Shores |
Grays Harbor County
In the first quarter of 2023, home sales in Grays Harbor County declined 32.7% from the same time period in 2022. Of the 14 counties in Western Washington, Grays Harbor County had the third largest decline in sales, surpassed only by Thurston County (36.0%) and Jefferson County (36.9%). Home sales in all Western Washington counties fell when compared to the final quarter of 2022. Lower sales activity was, in large part, due to lower levels of available listings in the first quarter of 2023. Home sales prices in Grays Harbor County fell 10.1% between Q1 of 2022 to Q1 of 2023 and the average number of days it took to sell a home was 76 days, up from 35 days in Q1 2022.
Slightly lower prices, higher average days on the market, improving mortgage rates, and fewer sales tend to favor home buyers.
(Source: “The Gardiner Report” produced by Matthew Gardiner, Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate)
Ocean Shores
Ocean Shores is now experiencing more of a balanced market, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which means that it doesn’t heavily favor sellers or buyers—it’s a mixed bag. The total numbers of properties listed for sale has slightly increased in April 2023 versus the year before, while the number of closed sales was down 40.9% from 2022. However, the number of properties under contract (pending sales) increased 43.5% in April 2023 versus March of this year indicating increasing buyer confidence. Even with the increase in pending sales, 2023 pended properties are 40% lower than April 2022 (when sales were very strong). The average list price in April this year was down 8.8% from 2022, but the average sold price this April was up 12.7% from April 2022 showing signs of appreciation.
Visitors are heading to Ocean Shores which is a good thing for real estate sales. January 2023 saw a large increase in the DOT visitor counts over 2022. The number of visitors increased in February, spiked in March, and lowered slightly in April. The high season (late June through September) should bring more potential buyers to Ocean Shores.
(Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service)
What about mortgage rates?
Mortgage rates in the first quarter of 2023 were less volatile than last year and have come down slightly from the high in the last quarter of 2022. Matthew Gardiner, Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate expects the Federal Reserve to pause rate increases after the May 4th quarter percent increase. He forecasts that mortgage rates will continue to move lower with occasional spikes and that they will be below 6% for the second half of this year. Lower mortgage rates should help fuel real estate sales.
