The local real estate market is still hot even though summer temperatures are beginning to cool down. Cory Bemis owner of Yakima's John L. Scott Real Estate says the current home sales price is $320,000 which is a 16.58% increase from last year at this time when homes were selling for an average of $274,500.

HOME SALES ON THE RISE EVERY MONTH

Bemis says more people were looking for homes last month and many found them. 218 homes sold last month which is a 38% increase from the 158 homes that sold in August of 2020. It’s also 18% increase from the 185 homes that sold in August of 2019.

He says 218 homes sold in the month of July, an 0.5% increase from the 217 homes sold in July of 2020 during the pandemic. It's also a 7.5% increase from the 187 from the 187 homes that sold in July of 2019.
So far this year 1,378 homes have sold in 2021 which is a 15.5% increase from last year when 1,193 homes were sold.

THERE'S NO END TO THE RISE IN DEMAND

Bemis says the demand remains strong.
As a comparison to the peak bubble years as Bemis calls them, in 2006 and 2007, there were 1,090 and 1,109 homes sold during this same time period.
So what's driving this surge in the home market in Yakima and around the country? 30 year fixed rate mortgages are averaging a 2.95% interest rate right now according to MortgageNewsDaily.com. (This is a tenth of a percent higher than last month)

MORE HOMES ARE FOR SALE THIS MONTH THAN LAST

Bemis says there are currently 417 pending/contingent homes listed for sale (9 less than 1 month ago) and 221 available listings (up from 179 a month ago).  Bemis says for those looking for a home there are now 24% more homes available than there were 1 month ago.