Skagit County 2023 home prices tick up but fewer homes sold

Substantially fewer Skagit County homes were sold in 2023 as rising mortgage rates took a toll but homeowners still saw their property values rise slightly, according to managing broker Shelah Inman of Brown McMillen Real Estate in Burlington.

The median price of a Skagit County home sold in 2023 rose 2.2% to $555,000. Inman said the median price for an entire year of Skagit home sales has increased every year since 2011, when it was $204,470.

“Home ownership has been a good investment for many Skagit households,” Inman said.

However, higher mortgage rates affected the number of Skagit County home sales. The number of homes sold plunged 25.7% to 1,324. That total also is 34.3% lower than it was in 2020, according to Inman, who prepared a report based on data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

“Many people were able to buy homes 3-5 years ago with great mortgage rates,” Inman said. “As mortgage rates rose, some prospective buyers found the resulting monthly payments too high while current homeowners didn’t want to sell their home and give up a mortgage with a low interest rate. But plenty of people still want to live in Skagit County and that, combined with low inventory, kept prices steady in 2023.”

Anacortes still leads Skagit County in median home sales price ($760,000, down 1.9%), followed by Burlington and Mount Vernon, both at $550,000. La Conner was the only community that didn’t have fewer home sales in 2023.

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 2023, with percentage comparisons to all of 2022, follow.

Skagit County – Median price, $555,000, up 2.2%; average price, $625,341, up 1.4%; units sold, 1,324, down 25.7%; DOM, 42, up 68.0%.

Anacortes – Median price, $760,000, down 1.9%; average price, $864,130, down 0.2%; units sold, 267, down 16.8%; DOM, 41, up 64.0%

Burlington – Median price, $550,000, up 1.9%; average price, $598,417, down 1.1%; units sold, 191, down 12.8%; DOM, 42, up 82.6%.

La Conner – Median price, $514,250, up 2.9%; average price, $579,202, down 1.7%; units sold, 92, unchanged; DOM, 79, 163.3%.

Mount Vernon – Median price, $550,000, up 1.9%; average price, $600,675, up 0.6%; units sold, 430, down 28.0%; DOM, 31, up 34.8%.

Sedro-Woolley – Median price, $489,950, down 2.0%; average price, $540,520, up 2.7%; units sold, 228, down 39.8%; DOM, 44, up 83.3%.