The Lacey Washington housing market has seen a real turn around in 2013, and homes for sale in Lacey look like they will continue to be in strong demand as we go into the new year.
The inventory of Lacey homes for sale in the beginning of the year was considerable, measured as 6-7 months of supply when taking into account all active listings…higher prices homes were contributing to the supply. Now on the 1st of December, inventory is down to 2-3 months (4-5 is considered balanced), and the rumored backlog of foreclosures turns out to have been media hype. While there are still lots of foreclosed properties being sold, the current number is 70% below a year ago.
Home prices have appreciated as well this year. On average, a home in Lacey appreciated by 13% so far this year. In the lower price ranges, especially below $200k, the number is more like 20%. Higher priced properties, those with more bells and whistles, have been moving more slowly, but even the $500k+ market has appreciated by 8-10%.
The Lacey Real Estate Market has been primed for a release of pent up demand for some time. This year, we saw the beginnings of a flood of people who have waited several years to downsize, upsize or move to the country. As the market improves, I believe the market will only get busier. Prices have a ways to go in order to get back to 2007 levels, and I don’t expect that price appreciation will slow much until we get into uncharted territory….in other words, the market declined by 20%+ during the downturn, and needs to gain 40-45% to make it up, so far we have made up about a third of that amount.
Lacey continues to add population at an increasing rate, with businesses relocating to the new industrial park…..bringing new jobs and employees. JBLM is also expected to continue to add personnel, partly as a result of downsizing at other locations. All in all, a pretty good time to be buying or selling a home in Lacey Wasington.