Home sales increase in Spokane County

Spokane County home sales in October jumped to 562, up from 504 closed sales in September.

But more sales didn’t mean higher prices.

The median home sale in October in the county was $169,900, down from $175,050 the month before, the Spokane Association of Realtors said.

The volume of sales measured month by month in 2014 matches the general pattern seen in 2013, said Rob Higgins, executive director of the association.

While home sales perked up in October, median prices fell compared with September. Higgins said that’s likely due to an uptick in sales of foreclosed homes, and a continuing drop in sales of newly built homes.

He noted home sales continue gaining ground slowly. This past month’s total sales are 6 percent more than the 528 homes sold in October 2013, Higgins said.

That same growth – 6 percent – is the difference between the median sales price in October 2014 compared with 12 months earlier, when it was $159,999, Higgins noted.

The high point in median sales price over the past two years came in August this year; that was $177,160, based on 608 sales, according to association figures.

Measuring the first 10 months of 2014, the median sales price is $168,967 – up 2.4 percent compared to $165,000 for January-October 2013.

The recent trend of a slowdown in new home sales continued, Higgins said, with 60 sold compared with 66 one year earlier. For the full year so far, 528 newly built homes have been sold, compared with 588 for the first 10 months of 2013.

Higgins said the three largest-dollar sales in October were:

• $650,000 for a Liberty Lake home.

• $600,000 for a Newman Lake residence.

• $570,000 for a South Hill condo.