If you are looking to buy or sell in Olympia, Washington in 2021, you’ll want to stay tuned and know how the market is performing. Here is the April 2021 real estate market update for Olympia and Thurston County, Washington that will help you buy or sell a home in 2021.
How Many Homes are for Sale?
In April 2021, the standing inventory of homes for sale in Thurston County was 211 single-family homes. This is 41 percent below April 2020. This is keeping our market in a deep seller’s market.
With the high demand and the low supply, this translates into just a 2-week supply of homes for sale. (A balanced market is 4-6 months of supply.)
The bright star is the number of new listings coming to the market. There were 578 new listings that came online and that is comparable to the Aprils of 2017, 2018 and 2019. Last April was when the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions were in full affect and you can see the impact of sellers not listing their homes for sale.
Records Number of Sales
While 578 new listings came to the market in April, there were 458 home sales and 508 pending sales. This is another indicator of how high the demand is for homes. Buyers are snapping up new listings within days of them coming on the market.
What is the median sales price for homes in Olympia and Thurston County, WA?
The median sales price in Thurston County is up 19.8% from April 2020 to $430,050.
Where are we headed with this real estate market?
When I chat with clients, inevitably they will mention we are in a housing bubble. But many economists and strategists confidently disagree.
They state that lack of supply is a problem for buyers and that is driving up prices, but unlike the housing bubble in 2006-2008, lenders are not issuing risky loans to unqualified buyers nor offering risky loan products like loans with teaser interest rates or balloon payments. Back in 2006, loans like this made up 40 percent of the mortgages, while today, these loans only make up two percent, according to Morgan Stanley.
Interest Rates
The Fed has stated that they will keep rates low for the next two years but inflation is going up and that can raise mortgage rates. Economists wager that higher inflation will be likely in 2022 and beyond.
With the pandemic still affecting the economy, the market is unpredictable. Slow-downs in vaccines and/or increasing cases of COVID or variants could negatively affect the economy. But most agree to expect interest rates to rise.
Home Prices
It is expected that home prices will continue to rise but at a slower pace. The increase in home prices over the last 12 months has been very steep and has more than tripled the historic average in gains.
What does this mean for buyers?
Don’t be discouraged and put off buying a home. If you wait a year, you’ll kick yourself for not buying now. Home prices and interest rates are expected to climb.
Be prepared to make an offer on a home. Have your finances in order and be sure to read my previous post on how to win the bidding war.
What does this market mean for sellers?
This is a great market to sell. We are seeing sellers who purchased just a year ago and are selling today are achieving a profit. In the past, this was unheard of as most sellers needed to stay in the home for at least three to five years to see a profit.
The downside for sellers is finding their next home to move to, and that is preventing many sellers from coming to the market.
Call me and let’s chat about your next move. I work with both buyers and sellers in the OTL (Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey) and greater Thurston County and would love to have a conversation with you.
VIDEO: April 2021 Olympia WA Real Estate Market Update | How to buy and sell a home in 2021
Unless otherwise noted, statistics compiled by Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Inc from NWMLS data. Statistics not published or compiled by NWMLS.