RMLS: Listings up, sales steady in Clark County

Anthony Macuk, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
·2 min read

May 15—The Clark County housing market got a small amount of breathing room in April thanks to a surge of new listings and relatively steady sales rates, according to the latest report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service.

New listings were reported at 1,123, a 19.5 percent increase from the 940 in March and a 66.4 percent increase over the 675 in April 2020.

Pending sales, at 916, decreased 1.1 percent from March's 926, although they still saw a 52.7 percent increase over the 596 offers accepted in April 2020. Closed sales, at 826, rose 9.4 percent from the 755 in March and 54.1 percent from the 536 in April 2020.

Inventory up slightly

The region's inventory in months, an estimate of how long it would take to sell through the existing backlog of listed homes, saw a slight bump from 0.5 in March to 0.6 in February.

Inventory increases have been rare in the past year. There were slight bumps in August and January, but the general trend has been a sustained decline from a relative April 2020 high point of 2.5 months. March's 0.5 figure was an all-time record low.

The overall figures for 2021 still show profound inventory challenges; compared with the first four months of 2020, this year has seen a 28.7 percent increase in pending sales and a 26 percent increase in closed sales, with only a 13.2 percent increase in new listings.

Home prices also continued on a steady upward climb. The median sale price rose from $435,000 in March to $445,000 in April, and the average price jumped from $486,500 to $501,100.

The local office of John L. Scott Real Estate publishes a monthly report that breaks down the RMLS numbers by price range.

April's report showed strong sales and inventory shortages across board, even for homes priced above $1 million, although lower-priced categories saw both the largest shortages and the highest activity.

The report estimated there were 0.4 months of supply remaining at the end of April for homes priced between $250,000 and $350,000, 0.3 months for the $350,000-to-$500,000 range, and 0.5 months for the $500,000-to-$750,000 range.

"Every May, we see a nice uptick in the number of new resale listings coming on the market. This increased availability and selection will be present throughout the summer. However, there is still a large backlog of homebuyers, keeping the market in a state of 'instant response' for each new resale listing," chairman and CEO J. Lennox Scott wrote in the report.