Home prices are still climbing in Clark County. The median sales price was $528,500 in the county last month, up $3,000 from March. (Median means half of the properties sold for more money, and half sold for less.) The median sales price has increased 19.3 percent from the first four months of 2021 to the same period this year.
There still aren’t many homes on the market in Clark County. The typical home sold in 18 days last month. April inventory was only 0.6 months, meaning the entire inventory of homes would sell in only about two weeks without new listings. That’s the same as last April, and experts say tight inventory leads to upward pressure on home prices. The last time there was a whole month of inventory available in Clark County was in September 2020.
Rising home mortgage rates are expected to cool the residential real estate market somewhat in the coming months. On Wednesday, consumer financial website wallethub.com reported 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.27 percent nationally, and 15-year rates were 4.52 percent, not including points or fees. In mid-March, those rates were 4.16 and 3.39 percent, respectively.
Areas with the most active listings were Brush Prairie, Battle Ground and Camas. The least expensive homes for sale are listed in the northwest Vancouver Heights area, where the asking price averages $393,300. That is the only area in the county with an asking price averaging less than $400,000. The most expensive homes are in the unincorporated area north of Salmon Creek and west of Interstate 5, where asking prices average $1.1 million.
Cowlitz County remains more affordable. The sales price averaged $442,700 there last month, and there were 102 active listings. Average time on market in Cowlitz County was 23 days, five more than in Clark County.
