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By Kirk Boxleimer
kbox/eitner@masoncounty com
Realtor and Certified Residential
Specialist Andy Conklin of The Conk-
lin Team at Windermere Real Estate/
Himlie in Shelton provided the Shel-
ton-Mason County Chamber of Com-
merce with an update on the Mason
County housing market N 0v. 19.
Conklin contrasted the supply ver—
sus the demand in the Mason County
housing market, noting that the num-
bers of housing properties available to
be sold in the county went from 335 in
September 2018 to 265 in September
2019 to 100 in September 2020, while
the numbers of housing property sales
that were closed in the county went
' from 103 in September 2018 to 149 in
September 2019 to 164 in September
2010.
Conklin said the number of months’
worth of supply of housing property in-
ventory is determined by dividing the
active listings .by the closed sales. Ma-
son County’s months of supply were
3.3 in September of 2018, 1.8 in Sep-
tember of 2019, and 0.61 in September
of 2020.
Conklin said four to six months of
supply is a relatively balanced hous-
;: ing market, which would have already
" made Mason County a seller’s market
back in 2018, before it became what he
1 / called a “frenzied market” in 2020, in
_y terms of being “highly tilted” toward
St' the seller.
a Conklin noted the number of new
In housing listings taken per year in Ma—
=‘ son County have declined from 1,380
‘e 3 in 2018 to 1,322 in 2019 to 1,196 in
7 Looking at countywide sold proper-
32 2020, “so we’re not taking as many
’ l listings, but we’re selling a lot of prop-
? erty.” ’
ties by price range, Conklin contrasted
the January-through-September pe-
riods of 2019 to 2020 and found that
sold properties in the $100,000 to
$200,000 price range had the steep-
est drop—off from 2019 to 2020, going
from 196 to 118, with sold properties
in the $200,000 to $250,00 price range
had the second-sharpest decline, going
from 203 in 2019 to 154 in 2020.
“There just isn’t anything to buy
under $100,000,” Conklin said.
At the same time, sold properties in
the $300,000 to $400,000 price range
posted the highest gains, from 206 in
2019 to 289 in 2020, with sold proper-
ties in the $500,000—plus price range
made the second-largest leap, from 74
in 2019 to 130 in 2020.
Across all price ranges, the number
of properties sold in Mason County in-
creased from 1,019 in 2019 to 1,065 in
2020.
Breaking those sales for the Jan—
uary-through-September periods of
2019 versus 2020 into geographic ar-
eas of Mason County, Conklin said the
median closed prices for all areas of
the county had gone up since last year,
from 4% for the Cloquallum, Dayton
and Matlock area, and 5% for the Bel-
fair and Tahuya area, in the low end
of increases, on up to 32% in the Hood-
sport and Potlatch area, and 22% in
the Allyn and Graveview area, in the
high end.
This makes for a 17% median closed
price increase across the county as a
whole, which Conklin deemed “quite a
big number.” ,
Comparing sales by month from
2019 to 2020, Conklin identified de-
clines from March to April in 2020,
as opposed to the continual month-
to~month sales increased from Febru-
ary to July in 2019, but the trend line
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A-11
; Chamber gets update on ‘frenzied’ real estate market
of April to September of 2020, with
month-to-month increases marked by
a dip in August, is virtually identical
to that of 2019, in spite of COVID-19.
“We were incredibly busy all sum—
mer long,” Conklin said of this year.
Conklin listed the housing market’s
biggest challenges as availability of in-
ventory, related issues of affordability
due to supply and demand, and entire—
ly new levels of uncertainty.
“We just don’t have the houses to
sell,” Conklin said, suggesting that
prospective sellers “can’t find a place,
so they’re unwilling to put their house
on the market before they hit the mar—
ket.”
Conklin explained that the Hous-
ing Affordability Index is designed to
measure how well the median income
supports the median sale ‘price.
“If the median income and the me-
dian sale price are perfectly in balance,
that means the Housing Affordability
Index is 100,” said Conklin, who added
that if the median income can afford
more than the median sale price, the
Housing Affordability Index would be
more than 100.
The Housing Affordability Index
assumes that a homebuyer has a 20%
down payment and is using 30% of
their monthly income for their front-
end debt-to-income ratio, and Conk-
lin’s data shows a median household
income of $55,726 for Mason County,
which divides into a monthly income
of a few cents less than $4,644, which
makes $1,347 available to the medi—
an-income homeowner for a monthly
mortgage payment (principal, inter-
est, taxes, and insurance).
Conklin reported the median sale
price in Mason County is $310,000,
which makes its Housing Affordability
Index 106.
“Mortgage interest is incredibly
cheap right now,” Conklin said. “If you
have good credit and a good history
of employment, you can get a 30—year
fixed-rate loan for around 2.875% to—
day.” '
Last year at this time, the inter-
est rate was at 3.99%, and if applied
to this year’s numbers, would yield a
Housing Affordability Index of 95, ac-
cording to Conklin.
Comparing the third-quarter home
sale prices of 2019 to 2020, Conklin
cited Windermere Real Estate Chief
Economist Matthew Gardner’s find-
ings, indicating that Mason County
had the highest increase of 15 West-
ern Washington counties, at 24%, with
Island, San Juan, Lewis and Kitsap
counties also seeing home sale price
increases of 20% or more.
Conklin found most of those home-
buyers, 429, came from right here in
Mason County, while 207 came from
King and Snohomish counties, 169
came from Kitsap County, 153 from
Pierce County and 122 from Thurston
County.
Conklin suggested Mason County
has become more attractive to those
who have become more open to work—
ing remotely over the past eight
months. ,
Conklin closed out by comparing
two three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom
houses with two-car garages, one in
Shelton and one in Olympia. While
the Olympia home is 1,860 square
feet on a 4,889-square-foot lot and the
Shelton home is 1,900 square feet on
a 6,098-square-foot lot, the Shelton
home costs $329,000, or 86% of the
Olympia home’s $380,000 price.
“That’s as close to the Thurston
County market as I can remember Ma-
son County being,” Conklin said.
Insurance enrollment
event at Mason General
Mason Health, in partnership with CHOICE
Regional Health Network, will host a pop—up open
enrollment event for people interested in signing
up for a health insurance plan through Washington
Healthplanner from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. Dec. 15 in the
emergency department parking lot at Mason Gen-
eral Hospital, 901 Mountain View Drive, Shelton.
The pop-up tent will have safety measures in
place, including required face masks and social dis-
tancing, so clients can meet with patient navigators
safely.
' Open enrollment for Washington Healthplanfind-
er is happening through Dec. 15, for coverage start-
ing Jan. 1. Those who enroll between Dec. 16 and
Jan. 15 will have coverage starting Feb. 1.
Susana Lopez, a Mason Health patient financial
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Open the same hours 365 days/year includ
3831 WA Hwy 3 - Shelton
360426-0675
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Thanksgiving and Black Friday
1065'155' WA Hwy 3 ' Shelton
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(an.
advocate, will offer Spanish language services at the
Dec. 15 event. Bring the legal names and birthdates
of all household members, home and mailing ad-
dress, Social Security number or immigration docu-
ments, income verification (pay stubs, tax return or
W-2), tax filing status, current health plan informa-
tion and tribal membership.
Washington Healthplanfinder is an online mar—
ketplace to compare and enroll in health insurance '
coverage and gain access to programs such as Wash-
ington Apple Health (Medicaid). Enrollment is of-
fered year-round to individuals and families eligible
for Apple Health.
In Mason County, residents can use Washington
Healthplanfinder to enroll with Coordinate Care,
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, Life—
wise Healthplan of Washington, Molina Healthcare
and Regence Blueshield. Dental plans include Delta
Dental, Dentegra Dental, Lifewise Family Dental
and Lifewise Individual Pediatric Dental.
For more information about Apple Health, call
,’
I Locally
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1-800-562-3022 or askmagi@hca.wa.gov.
Kitten Rescue hosts
bazaar, bake sale ’
Kitten Rescue of Mason County hosts a bazaar
and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 4 pm. Dec. 5 and 6 at
420 SE state Route 3 in Shelton.
The nonprofit organization will spread out the ga-
rage sale tents and maintain distancing, and masks
are required. All proceeds benefit the animals at Kit-
ten Rescue.
Items on sale include artwork, blankets, jewelry,
Christmas things, stocking stuffers, baked goods
and collectibles. Raffle tickets for a quilt will be sold.
Extra parking is available next door to the Kitten
Rescue compound.
I Compiled by reporter Gordon Weeks
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