Property Value & Appreciation
How is my area doing? Are
values going up? The figures below are
based on the average sales price for all
new and pre-owned homes in Clark
County.
Comparing the last
12 months to the
12 months previous. |
| NE Heights |
- 20.4% |
| SW Heights |
13.7% |
| Orchards |
- 12.7% |
| Evergreen |
- 13.7% |
| Cascade Park |
- 10.8% |
| Fishers Landing |
- 11.1% |
| Camas City |
- 16.9% |
| Lincoln/HD |
- 17.7% |
| 5 Corners |
- 14.9% |
| S. Salmon Creek |
- 14.8% |
| N. Felida |
- 12.1% |
| N. Hazel Dell |
- 16.5% |
| N. Salmon Creek |
- 21.9% |
| Brush Prairie |
- 15.7% |
| Yacolt |
- 15.5% |
| Battleground |
10.9% |
| Washougal |
- 16.5% |
| Clark County |
- 14.6% |
| Cowlitz County |
- 7.4% |
| Pacific |
- 5.8% |
Buyers Will Be Pinched
by FHA’s New Rules
These policy changes, announced in late January,
while serious, are designed to shore up the FHA’s capital reserves
and help the agency do a better job of managing risk. Buyers will
either have to spend more to secure financing, or scale down on what
they are buying. FHA is raising it’s upfront mortgage insurance
premium from 1.75% to 2.25%. It’s boosting the minimum down payment
to 10% for borrowers with a credit score of 580 and below (it stays
at 3.5% for everyone else), and reducing the permissible seller
concessions (closing costs the seller can pay for the buyer) from
6% to 3%.
Buyers can still borrow the down payment from their
parents, grand parents, etc. Proof that the parents/grandparents
have the money will still be necessary.
Year End 2009
December Highlights
Same month sales activity continued to grow county wide. Closed sales
increased 48.1%, pendings by 33.8% over Dec. 08. Comparing November 2009 to
December 2009, closings fell 10% and pending sales dropped 12.5%. This is not
surprising, the holidays are not the strongest time for sales. Inventory
in months is 7.6, with 3,212 active listings throughout the county.
2009 Summary
Comparing 2009 vs. 2008: Closed sales increased 13.8% and pending sales
were up 19.5%. New listings fell 23%. Total sales volume for 2009
was $1.2 billion which nearly matched 2008.
Sale Prices
Average sales price was down 5.2% in December 2009 compared to 2008,
while the median sales price dropped 8.9%. Average sales price in 2009
dropped to $237,800 vs. $278,300 in 2008, a 14.6% lessening. More sales
in 2009 but the average sale price was less. By far, the majority of
sales were under the $300,000 sales price.
