On a national level, home sales in June were down 18.9% from a year ago, however, the Chelan-Douglas real estate market is performing much better.
June home sales were up 3% by dollar volume while down only 4% by unit sales.
Where the local market is particularly hot is anything priced under $750,000. That end of the market was up 8% in June compared to last year. See June 2023 vs June 2022 results below.
For June 30 year-to-date compared to last year, the Chelan-Douglas market is down 13% in dollar volume compared to last year, but just under 10% for sales by unit. This compares favorably to the national sales which are down 23%. While cash sales are up 21% locally, financed transactions are lagging down $63MM and 22.6%. However, the under $750K price ranges in total are down only 4%, and the under $500K market is down only 2%. The under $750K price range represents 85% of the transaction volume. See comparison of year-to-date results below.
Price per square foot reflects the sales volume action in the given price ranges. The hyper peak of pricing last fall has moderated, and prices appear to be back to where they were a year ago, with the under $500K price range having come down slightly.
In the under $700K price ranges, data provided by Pacific Appraisal Associates indicates inventory is down 25% in the Wenatchee market to 156 SFH from June of last year. We need more inventory in the lower end ranges. Specifically, we need more new inventory where the seller is not locked into a 3% mortgage.
Freddie Mac recently released that mortgage rates dropped to their lowest level in four weeks. Let’s hope this gives the market a little boost heading into August.