Clark County WA Home Sales - April 2019 Report

Home Sales in the Seasonal Upswing, although at a Slower Pace for Clark County WA in April 2019.

Closed Unit-Sales fell only 14 units compared last year in the same month - and Down 92 units (-4.95%) year-to-date; while the short-term price-trend fell slightly from last month. Here are this month's key points: 

• Average-Sales Price increases are slowing, with the 12-month/long-term trend line up 6.72% year-over-year;  with the 3-Month Moving Average up 1.9% from this time last year; 
   
• The Inventory for Resale Homes rose 0.3 months, and is now at (the still low) 1.8 Months of Supply;
   
• Approximately 520 Resale Homes closed in the month, which is about 14 fewer (-2.6%) homes than in 2018; and 29 more than last month;
   
• REO/Bank Owned property sales were 9 units (1.7% of total); up from 8 (1.5%) in 2018; 
   
• Short Sale /Pre-Foreclosure property sales were 5 units (0.96% of total); up from 0 (0%) in 2018.

For Financing costs we see the month-end, 30-year-fixed home loan interest rate (nationwide average) is 4.14% (Down from 4.27% last month) according to Freddie Mac; compared to 4.47% for April 2018. The current rate level is lowest it has been in the past 14 months!

Continuing on I have prepared a Unit-Volume (number of homes sold) chart showing the short term (in red) and long term (12-month moving average in Blue) trends (shown below): 

Clark County Home Sales - Units Sold Trend April 2019

The Short-term trend line is rising nicely from the seasonal low; with the long-term trend appearing to be moving side-ways now, instead of going lower.

The next chart shows the Average Home Sales Price trends, both short-term and long-term: 

Clark County Home Sales - Average Sales Price Trend April 2019

Without a doubt, the start of this year's "high season" is showing a very soft profile to the price trend, which is very different when compared to the same time period in the past 5 years. This pattern makes great sense in light of a real estate market that is slowing locally and nationwide.

The short term Average sales price for Clark County is now $386,869; which is an increase of approximately $7,200 from the same month last year.

The final graphs are from RMLS and show:

Clark County Home Sales Inventory
& Days on Market - April 2019

This month we see New Listings growing at a steeper slope than Pending Sales and Closed Sales are. This is one reason the Active Inventory level has risen modestly. 

The second graph with the Average List and Sales Prices shows the average price for new listings again moving to a very high level. 

Both Average Days and Median Days on the Market fell substantially, which is what we expect at this stage of the high-season.

For the recent RMLS published report on the Clark County real estate scene you can find it here: RMLS Market Action Report on our main website.

Thank you for visiting our report; and please let us know if you have any questions or need help with your home or condo!

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PS - The home sales market is in change-mode as prices are softer with loan costs now falling, keeping this an excellent time to List and Sell Your Home with Our Team; or, at least find out what your home is worth!  We offer a no-cost, no-obligation Clark County WA Home Valuation, and invite you to try it out!

PPS - Looking to buy a home reasonably soon?  Interest rates have been falling and are still at historically low rates.  You are invited to visit our web-page for Clark County WA  Homes For Sale where it is Quite Easy to search by City, Neighborhood or by Category, with homes and real estate listings from the entire RMLS.  Sign-up Not Required!  The property and home listings shown are provided via many updates each day, and you will be e-mailed hourly with any new matches once you've signed up for a home search.

We also have the MLS Listings for these great towns in Clark County:  Battle Ground WA Homes For Sale | Brush Prairie WA Homes For Sale | Camas WA Homes for Sale | Hockinson WA Homes For Sale | La Center WA Homes for sale | Ridgefield WA Homes for sale | Homes for sale in Vancouver Washington | Washougal WA Real Estate | Yacolt WA Homes For Sale | Amboy WA Homes For Sale

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The information and charts in this Clark County WA real estate update (prepared by Vancouver WA Real Estate Broker, John Slocum, CRS, SFR, our resident statistician) are based on home sales recorded in the Clark County WA MLS system (RMLS), excluding sales of mobile home; and shows the purchase activity since 2009; charting the 3 month Moving average number of sales, and the 12 month Moving average.  This "smoothing" of the trend-data helps illustrate the short-term and longer term trends in Clark County's real estate market.

Disclaimer: as with any real estate statistics, we do our best to provide the best representation at the time the data was acquired and compiled.  The data and reports are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Warmer Weather is Coming - Is Your Comfort System Ready?

Heating and air-conditioning are frequently referred to as the "comfort systems."  If one has gone out in the dead of winter or the heat of summer, lack of comfort becomes a primary concern.  Regular maintenance with a HVAC checklist is something that homeowners can do themselves to ensure that the units operate properly.
Periodically

• Change your filter every 90 days; every 30 days if you have shedding pets. 
• Maintain at least two feet of clearance around outdoor air conditioning units and heat pumps.
• Don't allow leaves, grass clippings, lint or other things to block circulation of coils.
• Inspect insulation on refrigerant lines leading into house monthly and replace if missing or damaged.

Annually, in spring

• Confirm that outdoor air conditioning units and heat pumps are on level pads.
• Pour bleach in the air conditioner's condensation drain to clear mold and algae which can cause a clog.
• Avoid closing more than 20% of a home's registers to keep from overworking the system.
• Replace the battery in the home's carbon monoxide detector.

While using this list will prevent some things that may impede the comfort system's proper performance, it is recommended that you have your units serviced annually by a licensed contractor.  Furnaces should also be inspected for carbon monoxide leaks. Preventative maintenance may help avoid costly repairs.