Housing numbers in August showed Lewis County experienced an increase in new listings, just slightly behind numbers from a year ago, according to data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
In August, Lewis County had 141 new listings of houses and condos combined, an increase from July’s numbers of 133. The number was four less than in August 2014.
The number of closed sales remained about the same from the month of July and sat at 111, higher than the 92 closed sales in August 2014. The county experienced a 20.65 percent increase in closed sales, and the median price also rose 6.67 percent.
Brokers with MLS expressed mixed opinions in a press release. Some experienced a slowdown in housing activity during August, but said it was not as low as typical August numbers.
Leaders’ opinions for what is expected for the remainder of 2015 ranged from those who predicted the market to be on the cusp of a slowdown to others who said sales will continue at a rigorous pace.
The statistics showed gains for several indicators used to track activity, including pending sales, closed sales and median prices.
Lewis County stuck with those trends. There was an increase in median price from $157,500 a year ago to $168,000 this August. Pending sales increased by 47.8 percent from a year ago and showed 139 in August, while closed sales showed an increase of 20.65 percent from last year’s numbers.
For neighboring counties Thurston and Grays Harbor, pending sales increased by 17.24 percent and 2.96 percent respectively.
Lewis County closed out August with 5.44 months of inventory, an indicator of sales velocity. Experts pinpoint a balanced market between 4 and 6 months of supply.
Thurston County had 2.84 months of inventory, while Grays Harbor County had 5.7 months of inventory.
