
Thurston County Hot Spots
As 2013 is winding down I have been pulling stats to make sense of the year in real estate that Thurston County has experienced.
I remember posting stats two years ago in the fall of 2011 when following sales, watching the numbers and watching the median price continue to fall, I was trying to make sense of when would real estate values find a bottom.
The market began to turn in the summer of 2012 and while tracking the numbers, not only did Thurston county find a bottom, in the last 15 months the market has turned and values began to stabilize and in some cases, values began to increase.
The typical “supply and demand” theory comes in to play as it always does and should. But, there are a few changes to this market that are worth reporting.
Hot Spots
- 29% of all sales YTD in Thurston County were in the Lacey neighborhoods south of Interstate 5
- 21.5% of all sales YTD in Thurston County were in the Yelm neighborhoods and Rural SE Thurston County
Combined, the SE Lacey and Yelm neighborhoods made up over 50% of the real estate sales in Thurston County in 2013.
Knowing the inventory was lean in these neighborhoods and the demand was very strong throughout the year, these same neighborhoods median price continued to fall throughout the year.
Typically when supply is down and demand is up, values start climbing until balance is achieved.
The real estate conditions were perfect in 2013 for all areas of Thurston County, but even better in the SE areas mentioned. A seller was able to sell and sell fast and there were plenty of buyer’s taking advantage of prices they had no problem paying.
The “supply and demand” theory made less sense to me than I have ever seen.