Home Sales Slip 5% In Spokane County But Signs Point Toward Increase Beginning Sometime This Spring

Home sales in Spokane County dropped slightly in January, compared with the same month a year ago, but Realtors are optimistic about sales this spring.

About 5 percent fewer homes changed hands last month, at 224, compared with 237 in January 1997, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

January’s closings reflect buying activity in November and December.

“Things typically around the holidays slow down a little bit,” said Rick Shulman, an associate broker with John L. Scott in Spokane.

Shulman and other Realtors anticipate that closings will rise by March because January’s pending sales - those waiting to close - are up substantially from a year ago.

Last month, 340 sales were waiting to close, compared with 292 in January 1997, a 16 percent increase.

Additionally, the inventory of homes on the market is down - 2,099 homes last month, compared with 3,334 in January 1997.

That, Shulman said, means people waiting to sell their homes should put them on the market now, instead of waiting for spring.

“Closer to April, May and June, more (homes) will go on,” Shulman said. “It’s better to be one of the few than one of the many.”

Some of Linda Besse’s clients already have taken that advice to heart. The associate broker for Prudential Crane Realty in the Spokane Valley said she hasn’t been this busy since the boom time of the early 1990s.

“I’m backed up with appointments. I got a full price offer on a $280,000 home in 11 days. I was up until 1:15 this morning just trying to get stuff done,” Besse said Tuesday.

“I think what we’re going to see is February ‘pendings’ up, which means closed (sales) in March will be up.”

Homes which closed in January stayed on the market longer than the same month last year, an average of 92 days, compared with 84.

Activity was strongest in Northwest Spokane, where 61 homes sold in an average of 72 days. South Hill homes fetched the highest prices - an average of $144,196 - but stayed on the market longer - about 105 days.

Some high-priced homes boosted the average price in January - at $113,391. That’s substantially higher than January’s median price of $98,000. Half the homes sold are higher, and the other half lower than the median price.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Home sales