Sellers in Olympia WA are Seeing Good Equity Gains – and that’s putting it mildly

The real estate market in Olympia WA continues to grow and there aren’t signs that this trend will be stopping anytime soon.

This chart below shows the average gains sellers, who sold this year, are achieving from when they purchased.  On average, market-wide median home prices are up 8.6 percent, much higher than our long-term historical average of 5 percent per year.

And these are not just high-priced sales – these are the average of ALL sales in Thurston County, excluding manufactured homes, distressed homes, and homes that were significantly remodeled.  These are historically incredible numbers for our real estate market.

Why is the Olympia WA real estate market hot?

1. With absorption rate at a record low – the lowest it has ever been at 0.89 months of supply – there simply are not enough homes available for the higher number of buyers looking to purchase.  Builders cannot keep up with this pace, and existing home sellers have been slow to come onto the market.
2. More buyers are migrating to Thurston County and the Olympia area, looking for more affordable housing.  Thurston County remains the best county along the I-5 corridor for housing.
3. Interest rates are still historically low and it is anticipated to stay this way through next year, stretching the purchasing power for buyers.

When will this hot market end?

We are not seeing this hot market trend ending anytime soon because:

1. The unemployment rate is low.  For the Olympia area, the rate is 4.8 percent.
2. Incomes are rising.
3. Interest rates are dropping and are forecasted to stay low.
4. To get back to a “normal” or balanced market, we would need to add 293 percent more listings to meet the current pace of sales.  In our history, we have only been there once, and that was during the recent recession where there was an over-abundance of new construction and overbuilding.

So the market is still looking good for sellers in the Olympia area.  If you are thinking about selling, you don’t need to wait until the spring market.  Thurston County is open for business 12 months out of the year!  Contact me today to discuss your equity position in today’s real estate market.