SPOKANE, Wash. — If there’s been a listing in Spokane, Ryan Minnerly has seen it. Every showing brings hope and anticipation that this house could be the one.
“So, it's super exciting,” Minnerly said. “But…it's a test of patience, too."
Ryan and his girlfriend are looking for an upgrade and more space but they’re not the only ones.
The secret is out when it comes to how great it is to live in the Inland Northwest. It’s drawing people who grew up here to stay while attracting others who are new to the region with money to spend. It all adds up to a crowded field for buyers.
"When they see a $600,000 house, they sold their house for maybe $2.5 million in California. Now they're coming here,” Real Estate agent Perry Domini said of new buyers entering the market. “Well, $600,000 for an awesome house, that’s not a big deal for them."
For years, the talk in Spokane has been the hot housing market. According to real estate website Redfin, housing prices in Spokane are up 22.8% since last year. That’s good news for sellers but it makes the search tougher for people like Ryan.
"You know, we started looking four or five weeks ago, and there hasn't been a lot listing in that time frame," he said.
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So, what’s going on? Has the Spokane housing market slowed down, or is inventory just that low?
The Spokane Association of Realtors’ December snapshot shows sales down 7.2% compared to this time last year, but that doesn’t mean the market is slowing, because inventory is down too.
So, why are some houses sitting on the market longer than usual?
“A lot of times when they are sitting on the market, they are priced too high,” Domini explained. “And then you'll start seeing a couple of price drops. And now the buyer is kind of in the driver's seat because the sellers got to get rid of it."
Domini said some sellers may be trying to take advantage of the market and end up pricing too high. He said in other cases buyers are backing out after inspections.
“If the house has been on the market for over a week, buyers start asking what's wrong with it," Domini said.
Agents say while sellers are in the driver’s seat in this market, they need to price their home competitively to get multiple offers. And for buyers, be patient.
"We're prepared for this to take, it could take a while, could take six months, could take a year,” Minnerly said.