Home Value Trends in Washington

Home Value Trends in Washington

The media and industry experts can talk about the housing bubble and decreasing or increasing real estate markets across the nation all they want, but if you are looking to buy or sell a home, knowing the median

home value across the nation is not going to help you much.� (If you're curious though, the median home value in 2006 was about $221,900.)� You need to dig into the specifics of the area you're thinking of buying or selling a home and get the details on the state of the market and the attractions that area has to offer to truly get a grasp on a particular area's home value median and over all real estate market.�

If you're a native of Washington state, or thinking of moving there, you've made a good choice.� With its capital city of Olympia (but usually known more for Seattle) Washington has tons of job opportunities and tourist attractions.� The varied places to visit, the historical landmarks and national parks all make Washington a great place to vacation.� Any place that can draw in a lot of tourists is more likely to see their real estate market stay balanced and home value prices rise.� Washington's Tourism website suggests several varied opportunities for tourism in

Washington. There's the cultural side of things: museums, historical landmarks, wineries, arts festivals, theaters, etc and there is the wild side: camping, National Parks, wildlife viewing, hiking, biking, etc.� Whatever your interests, the state of Washington has something for you.

The economy of Washington is based mostly on agriculture and industries such as aerospace, software development, paper, lumber and wood products, chemical production and tourism.� Any area with high employment rates is bound to be a hot spot and therefore keep home value medians relatively high.� In fact, Washington's unemployment rate has fallen to 4.4% (a historical low) of the population after January 2007, which is only about 170,000 unemployed out of a population of over 6 million.� The average household income in Washington was right around $50,000 or so in 2005 and does not seem to be rising very quickly.

Like many other areas in the nation, home value prices in Washington have risen faster than incomes, which hurts residents' ability to buy their first home or upgrade to a new one.� However, Washington's market as a whole is still doing better than most.� Although the national home value median for single family homes dropped 1.8% in the beginning of 2007 compared to the opening months of 2006, the median home value for Washington has increased about 7.4% since 2006 to about $300,800 according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University.

Also according to Washington State University research, home value and sales varied significantly across the state, with home sales increasing in 20 counties, declining in 15 and staying unchanged in 4 compared to last year.� Median home value prices range from close to $500,000 in San Juan County and down to under $150,000 in Adams.�

Washington's home value averages and real estate market is affected largely in part to its labor and economic situation.� As long as jobs are open and available, Washington's market should stay relatively strong, though it will take time for income growth to catch up with home value gains.� If home value prices rise steadily but modestly and and allow average income growth to catch up, there is no reason why Washington state can't have a booming market once more and even first time buyers can't find the home of their dreams.

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