Walla Walla in the NY Times

Making a not so surprising splash (I was contacted for info used in the story) in the Great Homes and Destinations section, Walla Walla lands in the pages of the New York Times today. The subject? You guessed it: wine.

The focus of the story is actually on how the wine boom has led to a good number of people buying second homes in Walla Walla, something I've seen first hand.

You can find the full text of the article HERE.

April Statistics

April 2008 Statistics
April 2008 Charts

Highlights:

*Number of listings is HIGH
*Number of sales is DOWN (significantly)
*Sales price is UP (actually the highest ever for April)

Analysis:

Like I said last month, it looks like prices in the valley are actually going to hold steady. Median sales price was actually the highest ever for the month of April, but I wouldn't look for that trend to continue.

The number of listings shooting upwards again is no surprise- it's just that time of year.

The most interesting thing that I pulled out of these charts was just how low the number of closing fell for the month. If that were to continue it would definitely be quite worrisome, but at this point I don't think it's cause for concern.

The pending sales numbers (47 right now compared to 35 a month ago) indicate that the May figure should jump up again. Look for sales numbers in May to be better than April but still low compared to the last couple years.

So where does this leave us in the grand scheme of things?

Well, I've been saying it for a while now but I'm sticking with my call: GREAT time to buy and an okay time to sell, if you have reasonable expectations.

March Statistics

March 2008 Statistics
March 2008 Charts
2008 Quarter 1 Statistics

Once again I'm slow, but here are your March 2008 Walla Walla valley stats.

Now for some analysis...

*Number of listings is HIGH
(but lower than last month, which is noteworthy as this is the time of year when inventory usually builds)
*Number of sales is DOWN
*Sales price is DOWN

What does all this mean?

Basically we're just to the right of a balanced market, with the pendulum swinging a little closer right now to buyers than sellers. Transalation: great time to buy, okay time to sell.

I don't think we're going to actually see prices make a real drop in Walla Walla, but it looks like they may have leveled off for now.

If you're a seller you MUST have a good price- there's just too much else out there for buyers to choose from. Once you have your price right then it's all about effective marketing.

Buyers should be rejoicing with so much to choose from and interest rates that are still very low historically.

Remember to keep in mind that this is just a snapshot of one month- it will be interesting to look at the April stats in just a few days to see if these trends continue.