Tri-Cities housing prices spike again. It’s the hottest market in the Northwest

Home prices in the Tri-Cities hit a new high in August when the median price hit the $400,000 mark for the first time.

That’s a leap of $65,000 from a year ago, according to data from the Tri-City Association of Realtors.

It also is more than the national median home price of $356,700.

The sticker shock may be fierce but it remains somewhat affordable compared to larger cities along the West Coast.

The Seattle-Tacoma region has a $715,900 median price. Portland is at $550,000. And in the Boise, Idaho, area reached a median price of $523,000.

House hunters in the Mid-Columbia are seeing a bit more time to snag a house. Homes were selling in about 14 days in August compared to six days in the spring.

However, for the entire Tri-Cities region there were just 350 houses on the market in August.

Real estate agents in Tri-Cities agree that a healthier housing market for the size of this area should have about 1,500 active listings. A healthy market is one where neither the buyer nor seller is favored.

‘Slightly hot’ market

National Association of Realtor ranked the Tri-Cities market in July as the 41st hottest market in the nation out of 300 metro areas.

On its scale of very hot to very cool — the Kennewick-Pasco-Richland area was ranked “slightly hot” — which the group says will continue to heat up.

The competitiveness has been consistently increasing since last winter. The national Realtors group said that homes sell 33 percent faster than the national average.

The market in the Tri-Cities is more competitive than anywhere else in the Northwest. Yakima is not far behind at #42 and Spokane is #51.

Seattle was nearly at the bottom of the list of hottest markets at 225.

So where else in the Northwest can home buyers land a home for a bit less?

In Spokane the median home price in August was about $389,700.

And Walla Walla was slightly less at $350,000.

Farther south in Oregon, both Eugene and Salem were around the $400,00 price point as well.

This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 12:58 PM.