SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Sales of existing homes rose in the third quarter in Washington, and housing affordability surged as median prices dropped 9.5 percent from a year ago.
The Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University reported that home sales rose 21.7 percent in the third quarter, compared to the same period one year ago.
But the statewide median sales price of $225,300 in the third quarter was 9.5 percent below the median price a year ago. This is the biggest median price decline since a 13.7 percent drop in the first quarter of 2009.
Prices have declined compared to a year earlier for the past 15 quarters, and the statewide median price has now fallen below the third quarter 2004 level.
