Southwest Washington’s real estate market continued to show strength in February, with big jumps in both pending and closed sales. Even with a 26 percent increase in new listings, the time needed to sell a home dropped slightly, and the inventory of homes for sale dropped to levels well below those of the previous two Februaries.
The RMLS listing service reported 666 pending sales for the month, a 31 percent increase from last February and a 6 percent rise above January of this year.
Closed sales rose nearly 20 percent, to 431 for the month, compared to one year ago. From January, closed sales were up 3 percent. The month’s closed sales were the highest for a February since 2007, the peak of the housing boom.
The 751 new listings in February represented a 26 percent jump from last February, and were barely ahead of January’s 743 new listings. The time needed for a sale was 104 days, down from 110 days in January and in February of last year. The inventory of houses for sale would serve the market for 3.7 months, a dip from January’s 3.9 months of market time and well below the 5.7 months recorded in February 2014.
The median price of a Southwest Washington home sold in February was $249,900. That’s up from $238,800 in February 2014, for a 6.4 percent one-year increase.
