Yakima Home Sales Struggle Under Tough Economy

Home sales were down 32% in November of this year when compared to last November as the market continues to struggle under a tough economy.
According to Cory Bemis owner of Yakima's John L. Scott Reality the current Median Home Sales Price in the Yakima is $350,000. That's a 9% increase from last year when the price was $320,000. Bemis says 150 homes were sold in November...a decrease from the 222 homes sold in November of 2021.

The total number of homes sold in Yakima down from last year

All total 1,965 homes have been sold so far this year, a 5.4% decrease from last year.
What's slowing the market? Bemis says "While interest rates have certainly shifted momentum, the lack of inventory (homes for sale) compared to the number of sold homes still indicate the overall market is a sellers market.  With only 2.3 months of overall inventory, there is still slightly more demand (buyers) than supply (sellers) in the current Yakima market.  However, we are seeing more seller negotiations than we have seen in recent years.  For the third consecutive month, the average home sold for more than 3% below it's asking price. This negotiation amount of is what we would expect in a more balanced market."

Mortgage rates are on the rise

As of December 9th, 30-year fixed rate mortgages are averaging a 6.38% interest rate according to MortgageNewsDaily.com.  This is 0.84% lower than one month ago, and 3.18% higher than one year ago.