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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 26, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 26, 2020
 
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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 :( 0FF STOREWIlj'E 4o cat’me Open the same hours 365 days/year includ 3831 WA Hwy 3 - Shelton 360426-0675 “A (Drier to.C-'ur~ V ‘* reku uNTiL-»;12/§1/zo Thanksgiving and Black Friday 1065'155' WA Hwy 3 ' Shelton 360-426-3390 r'rlr was ch, 'rmv u .i‘r .r w‘ " ‘ ». (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 Owned 8: Operated 219 l’his product has intoxicating effects and may be habit lorming. Marijuana can impair contentratron. coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehitle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated aw with consumption ol this product, For use only by adults twenty one and older. Keep out of ' $69 NEW l’A'l‘llTN'l” EXAM 81 RAYS Sl'llClAlJ the reath oi thildren. ANV DEN'l Ill. ’l‘lt FA'I’M [2 NT 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 We provide [he be“ tlvrrral Come see why everyone is smiling! We provide implants, oral surgery, root canals, veneers, i‘ti<\ll‘l«3 lVOI‘ lllt‘ unuru tannin. crowns, bridges and more. Have your dental work done right here in Shelton and save the driving for the weekend. 182.9 Jefferson Street, Shelton - (360) 416-8401 v. h www.511cltondentalceutencom