The Mid-Columbia’s real estate market, which set records during 2005, slowed last year with fewer homes being built and constructed.
Home sales in 2006 were down 5.7% from 2005, according to statistics from the Tri-City Association of Realtors.
There were 3,543 homes sold in the Mid-Columbia last year, compared with 3,757 in 2005, when the area’s Realtors set sales records. But the decrease was barely perceptible to Real Estate professionals.
The Mid-Columbia didn’t experience the drastic home price increases seen in some areas on the west side of the state, which also means the area won’t experience a huge drop off. Much of the reason the home prices here didn’t jump up in price was because the vast amount of land available.
The steady market has helped the average price of the homes being sold increase by 3.5% over the year to $179,000 and the median price increase by 3.9% to $160,850.
Across the Mid-Columbia, construction of new homes fell by 26% in 2006 compared with the previous year.
According to statistics from the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities, there were 1,596 building permits for new homes issued during 2006 compared with 2,147 in 2005.
Although the pace has slowed, area builders & sub-contractors didn’t have any problem finding enough work to keep them busy.
In Benton County, the number of new home permits dropped 23%, from 184 permits issued during 2005 to 142 last year and the values of the permits fell.
In 2005, the value of building permits for new homes in Benton County added up to $45.24 million, last year they totaled $34.85 million, also a 23% drop. Franklin County had a 15% decline in new home permits during the same time, from 54 in 2005 to 46 in 2006, with the value of the permits falling 12%, from $14.5 million in 2005 to $12.7 million last year.
Area cities experienced a larger decline in newly built homes last year than the counties.
In Kennewick, single family home building permits dropped 22%, from 405 permits issued in 2005 to 314 last year, but the total value of the permits only fell 8%, from $73.8 million to $68 million.
Richland officials also are optimistic, despite a 14% drop in building permits for new homes, from 335 permits issued in 2005 to 287 in 2006. The value of the permits dropped 5% during the same time, from $80.15 million to $75.86 million.
Of the area’s major cities, Richland experienced the lowest decline.
Pasco saw the biggest plunge in new housing starts. In 2005, 995 new home permits were issued in Pasco, adding up to $162 million in valuation; last year that dropped 32% to 679 permits, worth an estimated $127.70 million.