Homeownership skewing toward six-figure incomes

“The most dramatic increase I’ve seen has been in the last five years,” said Wollam, who’s been in real estate for 19 years. “It’s a trend that’s not going away.”

While households with more moderate incomes have been priced out of homebuying or found fiercer competition for entry-level homes, those earning six figures have more leeway.

Between April and June, homes between $200,000 and $300,000 averaged 16 days on the market, and homes between $150,000 and $200,000 averaged 14 days, according to a market analysis from RMLS, a regional real estate listing service. The median sale price of a home sold last month was $293,500. Time spent on the market generally increases as prices increase, with homes in the million-dollar range spending the most time on the market.

A family earning at least $100,000 could get into a home priced between $525,000 and $600,000, depending on the size of their down payment, Wollam said. Although they could buy a cheaper home, a higher price means they don’t have to compromise on amenities. For instance, if somebody wanted a large, new-construction home in Camas or Felida — and wanted to be surrounded by similar, nice homes — they could get such a home in that price range. It could be custom-built, have a view and be in a desirable school district.

Many buyers come from Southern California, Seattle or Portland, where the cost of living is higher. A $525,000 home in Clark County is a million-dollar home in a hotter market, Wollam said. Clark County is also the southernmost point along the Interstate 5 corridor where there’s no income tax, which is attracting investors from out of the county and out of the country.

“Businesses have been moving here for the same reason, and with that we’ve had higher-income-producing jobs,” Wollam said.

Regional economist Scott Bailey said that there’s been more growth among jobs at the highest and lowest ends of the pay scale as opposed to jobs in the middle. With bigger companies offering higher-paying jobs moving to the area, such as Banfield Pet Hospital, Clark County will continue to see that influx of six-figure income families. And those families are going to buy homes.

There is also a growing number of wealthier households who don’t have mortgages. In 2014, over 20 percent of homeowners without a mortgage earned at least $100,000 annually; in 2005, it was about 12 percent.

The amount of buyers willing and able to pay more for a home is going to impact what’s being constructed as builders try to match what buyers are demanding, Wollam said. People can see that demand reflected in the style of homes being built — that they’re starting to be more modern like the homes in Portland and California, Wollam said.

Newer homes tend to be bigger and costlier. As of 2013, the average size of a new single-family home in Clark County had risen to 2,372 square feet at a cost of $172 per square foot, according to Census data.

The majority of new homes sold between April and June cost at least $350,000. The most popular price range, in terms of number of homes sold, was $350,000 to $400,000. Those homes averaged 67 days on the market. During that same three-month period, there were zero new homes sold in the entry-level $150,000 to $200,000 range.

The popularity of higher-end homes peaks at about $600,000. Homes that cost more than that spent much more time on the market, so builders aren’t going to build as many of those homes.