Market Update 10.21.21
The Lake Chelan Valley residential home real estate market continued to march on in September. The market posted another record: a new median sales price high of $826,500.
This number was predominately driven by strong sales in homes priced between $900K and $2M. Of the 29 total closings in September, 12 of these fell in the 900K-2M range. Their closings accounted for over half of the total dollar volume of properties sold (15.5M of 28M). These homes drove the median sales price to its new high.
September saw an encouraging number of new listings (36), a strong number of pending sales (26), and a slight uptick in the inventory of homes for sale (55 homes). This is 10 more homes than were on the market in September 2020, which isn’t saying much in terms of inventory. But if new listings continue to enter the market and time on market stretches a bit longer, inventory may improve.
The 55 homes for sale translates to 2.6 months of inventory. Months of inventory is calculated as the time required at the current sales pace to sell through the entire inventory. 2.6 months is better than the 0.7 months of February of this year (see below), but well below the range of 4-6 that constitutes a balanced market.
The take home from all of these numbers? September represents a continuation of what we have seen throughout 2021. Very low inventory. Very high demand. Pricing that continues to inch (and in some cases jump) higher. The Lake Chelan real estate market has entered a new era.
The shadow of this new era, as we have discussed, is the stress it places on those who live and work in Chelan. Only 7 of the 55 homes currently listed are below 500K (and many of these are older manufactured homes). This affordability issue continues to be something we need to address as a valley.
However, there are two bright spots on this horizon. First, significant investment is being made in quality rental apartments. Within a matter of years, there could be over two hundred new rental units in the valley. While this doesn’t directly help people own their own homes, it does offer housing opportunities for many currently living in Wenatchee, Entiat, and Pateros.
Second, the Chelan Valley Housing Trust continues to gain in momentum and capacity. They recently hired a new Executive Director, Steve Wilkinson. Kudos to outgoing director, Mike Cooney, for giving life to this organization. Steve is the right person to help grow CVHT to the next level. If you are a percentage giver and enjoy Lake Chelan, please consider including CVHT in your giving rhythms.
