Find out what’s happening in the Vancouver real estate market for Late-September 2023.
Hi there, I’m Carrie Struss licensed real estate agent in OR and WA with the Bridge To Portland team at Living Room Realty, here to tell you what you need to know about the Southwest Washington real estate market for Late September 2023.
Let’s Talk Numbers
Last month in Clark County we had an average sale price of $553k, with houses selling at 100.2% of their listing price in 11 days on average.
But….that was August. It is late Sept and it feels like someone suddenly HIT THE BRAKES. Let’s look at the numbers for active listing to get the current temperature of Southwest Washington. This is the last week of August, the active listings time on market was 21 days. Fast forward 3 weeks to the 3rd week of Sept and the time on market practically doubled to 40 days.
So what happened between the end of August and now? Well, for one, school started which triggers a statistically slow time in the market. But specifically in Clark Co both Evergreen and Camas School District teachers went on strike, preventing kids from being able to go to school for two weeks. So my clients with kids were MIA. Additionally, affecting everyone, interest rates continued to unsteadily climb by almost half a point from 7.1% to 7.5%.
With higher payments and loans costing more, I am seeing a lot of my Buyer clients be very picky, or I should say particular and realistic about what they can buy and want to buy. What condition the house is in plays a huge factor in that decision. The fact that the same house now costs 4% percent more a month than it did just 3 weeks ago makes buyers less inclined to purchase something that might need a little work or might not fit all of their needs.
Inventory
Alternatively, inventory sucks. We have 1.6 months of inventory in Clark Co. So Sellers have the opportunity to give the market what it needs, which is inventory. But you need to do so with patience and understanding that right now your house may take longer to sell than you expect and that you are likely going to be asked to contribute towards buyers closing costs for temporary or permanent rate buy downs and/or asked to do repairs or give the Buyer credit towards their closing cost.
Despite 42% of this week’s active listings having price reductions, inventory levels still puts us in a Sellers market. Seeing how September’s average sales price compares to August will give us a better sense of what the current rates will do to future prices. However, economists are predicting rates will remain at or above current levels well into 2024 if not longer. This will likely cause enough downward pressure on prices to put us into a more neutral buyer/seller market through winter.
Seasonal Changes
Winter is coming, but so is opportunity when both buyers and sellers understand what’s going on in the local market week by week and have knowledgeable agents to guide them through.
Make A Move
Living Room Realty is here to help you make an informed decision. If you’re ready to make a move, give us a call today. We’d love to help you find your next living room.