ISLAND COUNTY, Wash. — The door is opening to more homebuyers in Island County.
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service states Island and Ferry counties are the only ones in the state to see their home prices drop between July of 2021 and this July.
One home in Oak Harbor is a prime example. The fully remodeled house with a water view was originally listed for $785,000. The sellers dropped the price 20% to $650,000 after an unheard of 80 days on the market.
"I'm absolutely surprised this one is still on the market," said Realtor Jim Woessner.
He believes a combination of rising interest rates and a flood of houses on the market are driving the drop.
He calls it "the shift."
"We in the real estate business have been talking about a shift since October," said Woessner. "We felt as though what was going on in the industry wasn't sustainable."
Home prices in Island County have dropped for the first time since before the pandemic - 7% lower on Whidbey Island and nearly 10% off on Camano Island.
Across the state, the number of listings is nearly double what it was last year, from 7,948 to 15,381. Meanwhile, the number of sales dropped from 10,919 in July 2021 to 7,646, this year.
That doesn't necessarily translate to lower prices everywhere.
James McCafferty, the director of Western Washington University's Center for Economic and Business Research, said the Island County numbers are likely an anomaly because they're only comparing a single month from year to year.
"When we look at real estate data, it's squirrely by nature," he said. "Typically, we don't trust a single data point."
McCafferty believes what's really happening is a slow return to normalcy.
"We expect home prices to continue to rise, but it will be more muted," he said. "The days of the wild bidding wars are coming to an end. We expect the market to be much more realistic."
In the meantime, Jim Woessner is confident the Oak Harbor home won't sit on the market for another 80 days.
"Some lucky dog is gonna end up with this house," he said.