More than 100 homes sold for $1 million in Thurston County in 2023. Here’s where
More than 100 Thurston County homes sold for $1 million or more for the second straight year, according to year-end real estate data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
In total, 109 homes sold for $1 million or more in the county, the data show. That was down from 130 homes in 2022.
What’s driving these higher-end home sales? Steve Garrett, owner of Windermere Olympia, thinks it’s a combination of factors: out-of-area buyers who built up a lot of equity in their previous homes, then took advantage of previously low mortgage rates to increase their buying power and “moved up” to purchasing a seven-figure residence.
Of the 109 sales, more than half — 61 units — were sold in northeast and northwest Thurston County and west Olympia, the data show.
Garrett was not surprised by the locations because they include Cooper Point and Steamboat Island, two areas where buyers want to live to be near the water, or are attracted by area schools, such as the Griffin School District in the Steamboat Island area, he said.
Another popular spot: East Bay Drive in Olympia. That’s where Van Dorm Realty broker Thomas Arndt sold a million-dollar property, he said.
As for the rest of the county housing market, single-family home sales plunged in 2023, down nearly 27% to 3,379 units from 4,612 units in 2022, the data show.
Sales slowed last year because of what Northwest MLS officials called “persistent low inventory” and higher mortgage interest rates. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was once 3%, but in late 2023 rates spiked to nearly 8% and then backed off to 6.6%, according to Freddie Mac, which tracks interest rates.
Lower rates with low inventory has mixed benefits for the market, said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, in a statement.
“This (lower rates) is an encouraging development for the housing market and in particular first-time home buyers who are sensitive to changes in housing affordability,” Khater said. “However, as purchase demand continues to thaw, it will put more pressure on already depleted inventory for sale.”
The year-end county median price rose 1% to $505,000 in 2023 from $500,000 in 2022. That’s good news if you’re a home seller, but bad news if you’re trying to buy a home, because slower sales and higher mortgage interest rates made that price feel even higher.
Again, that’s a reflection of low inventory. The seller is still driving the market, Garrett said.
A market that doesn’t favor either the buyer or seller has four to six months of inventory, a range the county housing market hasn’t seen in years. Thurston County ended 2023 with less than two months of inventory.
Where the million-dollar homes sold in 2023
▪ Northeast Thurston County: 23 homes.
▪ West Olympia: 21.
▪ Northwest Thurston County: 17.
▪ Boston Harbor: 9.
▪ North Olympia: 8.
▪ Rochester: 6.
▪ Southeast Thurston County: 5.
▪ South Thurston County: 5.
▪ Black Hills: 4.
▪ Yelm/Rainier: 4.
▪ Hawks Prairie: 3.
▪ East Olympia: 2.
▪ Lacey: 1.
▪ Tumwater: 1.
Million-dollar home sales in the region
▪ King County: 6,963 homes.
▪ Snohomish County: 1,545.
▪ Pierce County: 563.
Source: Northwest MLS
