Clark County Market Recap

The real estate market in Clark County WA is still lively, but starting to reach a more “reasonable” level. Even during this hot lazy summer, activity is high, inventory low, and prices are still up compared to a year ago.

During this time of year, buyers are pretty serious, especially families with school children.  They want to relocate before school starts.  Likewise, sellers are eager to move on and are now willing to negotiate over price or terms as the Springtime frenzy has died down. It is a good time to consider buying if you are in the market. 

July, 2022 Market Report

Here’s a recap of the July market activity in Camas, East County, and Washougal. Plus, the latest market report for MultiGen homes in Clark County.

Clark County Market Recap

Meanwhile, even with a slight downturn, Average home prices in Clark County are up 15% over last year.

Sellers:

If you are thinking about selling, now is a great time!  Most COVID restrictions have been lifted, but we still observe all health protocols. restrictions.  All showings continue under controlled environments, and houses continue to be shown and sold.

Want To Know What Your Home is Worth? Just Ask US!

Buyers: 

Be super-prepared when you start looking.  Have your financing and down payment in order, and be prepared to make an offer as soon as you see what you like.  Waiting will likely mean the house will be gone.  You can start your home search here.

Want to hear more about Clark County Home Sales, or receive our Week-End Market Report?  Send us an email and we’ll send you the latest reports.

Brush Prairie Home Sale – November. Many of our buyers are looking for homes in the country surrounded by nature. But they also want to be close to shopping, services, and good schools. One area is Brush Prairie/Hockinson, where we regularly find homes that meet their criteria. In a rural area roughly between Vancouver and Battle Ground, Brush Prairie has all the amenities  – rolling hillsides, tracts of timber land, and large horse pastures. Many homes have impressive panoramic views. Yet, it is within easy driving distance of metropolitan services, including Portland International Airport right across the Columbia River. Combine privacy with the diversity of views, and you have a very popular area for homes with “Nature as Neighbors”. If you are looking for a home in Brush Prairie, it helps to know the market. Brush Prairie Home Sales* – November: 34 Active Listings – $400,000 to $2,949,000 Average SQFT – 3,791 Average $/SQFT – $228 11 Pending – $459,900 to $899,900 Average SQFT- 3,411 Average $/SQFT – $194 28 Sold in last 3 Mos – $425,000 to $1,040,000 Average SQFT – 3,035 Average $/SQFT – $210 Median Days on Market – 23. Homes in Brush Prairie sell quickly!  
*Averages are for Single Family homes starting at $400,000. Buyers, if you are looking for homes for sale in Brush Prairie, you can start here. If you are thinking of selling your home in Brush Prairie, call us for a free pricing appointment.

Homes for Sale in Brush Prairie, WA. Many of our buyers are looking for homes in the country surrounded by nature. But they also want to be close to shopping, services, and good schools. So we look in the Brush Prairie/Hockinson area where we regularly find homes that meet this criteria. Brush Prairie/Hockinson has all the amenities of a rural area – rolling hillsides, tracts of timber land, and large horse pastures. Yet, it is within easy driving distance of metropolitan services, including Portland International Airport right across the Columbia River. Combine privacy with the diversity of views, and you have a very popular area for homes with “Nature as Neighbors.”

Market Summary of Homes for Sale in Brush Prairie:

28 Active Listings – $474,900 to $1,496,000 Average SQFT – 3,783 Average $/SQFT – $213 23 Pending – $450,000 to $1,199,000 Average SQFT- 3,097 Average $/SQFT – $216 22 Sold in last 3 Mos – $425,000 to $1,274,000 Average SQFT – 3,550 Average $/SQFT – $199 Median Days on Market – 26. Homes in Brush Prairie sell quickly!   Buyers, if you are looking for homes for sale in Brush Prairie, you can start here. If you are thinking of selling your home in Brush Prairie, call us for a free pricing analysis.

Nature as Neighbors – Waterfront Property

As Spring approaches, we all spend more time in the great outdoors – especially on the water. Some folks want easy access to boating and active water sports, while others just want a peaceful place to enjoy the relaxed, meditative environment. Water activities here are so popular, many buyers decide they want to live year-round on a river, bay, creek or pond.  Whatever venue they choose, waterfront homes have a built-in natural asset that provides years of enjoyment and adds greatly to its resale value.

Buying or Selling Homes on Waterfront

While Clark County offers many opportunities for waterfront living, the challenges of regulations, market demand, and a limited inventory have made this a specialized market. Shoreline protections, alone, can dictate home site footprints, setbacks, and mitigation requirements that are very different from normal home sites. Buyers and sellers should work with a broker who has expertise in waterfront properties and knows this market well.

ViewHomes™ of Clark County Market Report* for Waterfront Homes:

75 Active from $400,000 to $2,100,000
Average SQFT 3,508
Average $/SQFT $217

27 Pending from $400,000 to $2,500,000
Average SQFT 2,678
Average $/SQFT $241

43 Sold in past 3 months from $409,000 to $2,430,750
Average SQFT 3,384
Average $/SQFT $209

(Averages do not include the 55-acre parcel on Lacamas Lake for $13,500,000.)

Median Days on Market: 64 days.  This is down a bit from 87 DOM in February – these properties will start heating up as the weather gets better!

*Focusing on homes priced $400,000 and above

 

Looking for a waterfront property? Start your search here.

Have a home on the water you want to sell?  We specialize in selling homes with “Nature As Neighbors.”

We regularly post Market Reports to show the home sales activity in Clark County. Throughout the year we show activity in many towns in the RMLS, reporting more frequently on the areas where we concentrate our efforts – East County – Camas, Hockinson, and Washougal.  We use a pictograph to show Active, Pending, and Recent Sales, including average prices, etc.

At the bottom of our chart, we show the “Annual Increase in Sales Price” – which is derived from the RMLS monthly “AVG Price % Change” for that area.

The RMLS defines this as the rolling average sale price for the last 12 months compared to the average price 12 months prior. Monthly reports include this change for all of Clark County, as well as specific RMLS areas.

We started to notice an interesting change in this indicator for the past several months.  So we decided to plot it.  Since around 2011, the AVG Price % Change for most areas kept going up year after year.  That continued until 12 months ago.  Now the numbers show a different trend – leveling off, or even heading down slightly.

What does this mean?  The rate at which prices were going up is now cooling.  Average price increases in most areas are still positive, just not as high as previous years. Here are the trends in the areas where we focus our efforts:

Simultaneously, inventory, although still low, has been creeping up slowly as more new construction comes on line in the area.

A quick comparison of the larger Portland market (based on RMLS numbers) shows the same trajectory down in AVG Price % Change. A more comprehensive indicator – the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index also shows that, for the Portland metro market (which includes Clark County) there is a year-over-year decrease in the rate of home price increases.

So, are we entering a cooling off period in the area?  In addition to a lower percent price change, overall closings are trending down.  This could, of course, be due to some of the Fed’s interest rate hikes last year.  The promise of no new rate increases in the coming months might boost overall sales again. Plus, inventory is going up as new construction adds more homes.

The message for Sellers is, when listing your property be very realistic about your pricing.  Inventory is still low, but qualified buyers are clearly expecting lower prices than last year.  Likewise, buyers should be aware of the opportunities as inventory increases.

For now, it appears to be a slight (and needed) pricing correction in the market. Due to the low inventory, we are still in a Sellers market. Buyers who find a home they love, need to act quickly and realistically with offers.

We don’t expect wild drops in pricing, but the trend appears to be downward for now.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out as we continue to track and report on price changes in the coming months.

Nature as Neighbors in Brush Prairie/Hockinson

Many buyers are looking for homes in the country surrounded by nature, but still close to shopping, services, and good schools. Brush Prairie/Hockinson is a great area where we regularly find homes that meet this criteria.

Hockinson has all the amenities of a rural area – rolling hillsides, tracts of timber land, and large horse pastures. Yet, it is within easy driving distance of metropolitan services, including Portland International Airport right across the Columbia River. Combine privacy with the diversity of views, and you have a very popular area for homes with “Nature as Neighbors.”

Market Summary of ViewHomes™ in Hockinson:

28 Active Listings – $489,900 to $1,496,000
Average SQFT – 4,004
Average $/SQFT – $208

8 Pending – $525,000 to $909,551
Average SQFT- 2,882
Average $/SQFT – $251

13 Sold in last 3 Mos – $400,000 to $775,000
Average SQFT – 3,228
Average $/SQFT – $178

Median Days on Market – 87.  

If you are thinking of selling your home in Hockinson, call us for a free pricing analysis.
If you are looking for a home to buy, start your search for ViewHomes™ of in Hockinson here.