Skagit County 2022 home sales stabilize; median sales price still rises 8.6% to $543,000
Rising mortgage rates tapped the brakes on Skagit County homes sales in 2022 but homeowners still saw their property values rise, according to managing broker Shelah Inman of Brown McMillen Real Estate in Burlington.
The median price of a Skagit County home sold in 2022 rose 8.6% to $543,000. Inman said that’s a good increase in any year except in comparison to 2021, when it skyrocketed 18.5%. Skagit home sales kept rising for the first half of 2022, but mortgage rates that eventually doubled and hit a peak around 7% for a 30-year loan cooled off the housing market here and elsewhere, according to Inman. She prepared a report based on data from the Northwest Washington Multiple Listing Service.
Prices pulled back some from their 2022 highs and fewer homes sold. The number of Skagit County homes sold dropped to 1,783, which is 13% below the total just two years ago, Inman said.
Inman said a 30-year fixed mortgage rate was around 3% at the start of 2022 but steadily began to rise. When the 30-year rate went above 5% in late summer, the dramatic effect it had on monthly home payments dampened buyer interest and resulted in some price adjustments, she added.
“Skagit homeowners are doing well whenever annual appreciation is close to 10%,” Inman said. “Our home market can’t sustain increases close to 20% for long. However, Skagit County still is a great place to raise families and retire, we have more housing inventory and the 30-year mortgage rate has stabilized around 6.5%. Instead of a frenzied market with multiple offers for homes, we now have more of a balanced market for buyers and sellers.”
Anacortes leads Skagit County in median home sales price ($775,000, up 20.2%), followed by Burlington and Mount Vernon, both at $540,000. While countywide home sales dropped, they rose in two communities: La Conner (19.5%) and Sedro-Woolley (8.9%).
The median sales price, average sales price, number of units sold and average days on the market (DOM) before a sale for Skagit County and individual communities for all of 2022, with percentage comparisons to all of 2021, follow.
Skagit County – Median price, $543,000, up 8.6%; average price, $616,656, up 7.7%; units sold, 1,783, down 4.6%; DOM, 25, up 19.1%.
Anacortes – Median price, $775,000, up 20.2%; average price, $865,587, up 15.6%; units sold, 321, down 7.0%; DOM, 25, unchanged
Burlington – Median price, $540,000, up 11.3%; average price, $605,217, up 5.8%; units sold, 219, down 11.7%; DOM, 23, up 27.8%.
La Conner – Median price, $500,000, unchanged; average price, $589,355, down 2.8%; units sold, 92, up 19.5%; DOM, 30, up 36.4%.
Mount Vernon – Median price, $540,000, up 3.9%; average price, $596,977, up 7.3%; units sold, 597, down 14.6%; DOM, 23, up 27.8%.
Sedro-Woolley – Median price, $500,000, up 13.4%; average price, $526,326, up 9.4%; units sold, 379, up 8.9%; DOM, 24, up 20.0%.
MEDIA NOTE: If using this information, please attribute it to Shelah Inman of Brown McMillen Real Estate.