Kitsap’s median home price hits $285,000
The median price for homes sold in Kitsap County reached $285,000 last month, as sales activity ramped up and inventory remained low.
The median price for May was 7.6 percent higher than in May of 2015, according to report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
The year-to-date (January-May) median home price for the county was $266,914, up about 11.5 percent from the same period of last year.
Prices have increased most dramatically in West Bremerton, where homes are selling for 40 percent more so far this year than in 2015.
Despite the price jump, West Bremerton remains the county’s least expensive submarket.
Home sales also ticked up in May. Pending sales were up 9.4 percent from May 2015, while closed sales jumped 12.5 percent.
The number of homes available for sale inched up to 734, with 608 listings added. Inventory remained 23 percent lower than a year ago.
The months supply of homes — the number of months it would take to sell off all homes on the market if no new listings were added — rested at 1.85. A market is considered balanced when it has a four- to six-month supply.
“Inventory is being squeezed from all directions,” Frank Wilson of John L. Scott in Poulsbo, said in a statement released by NWMLS. “With less than two months of inventory, every new listing seems to draw multiple offers.”
Wilson doesn’t see the inventory crunch easing “for some time to come.” Even if the Fed raises interest rates, he believes shortages will persist because of the backlog of buyers.
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