Columbia Basin Region 2022 Quarter 1 Report

QUARTERLY

REAL ESTATE MARKET REVIEW APRIL 2022

“It’s about the possibilities in our clients Lives.™”

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CONTENTS 9. Tri-Cities Pasco, WA 10.

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Homes for Sale Vs. Pended Vs. Sold Average Price per Square Foot Average Price For Sale and Sold Average Days on the Market Months of Inventory Absorption Rate

16. Walla Walla, WA 17.

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Homes for Sale Vs. Pended Vs. Sold Average Price per Square Foot Average Price For Sale and Sold Average Days on the Market Months of Inventory Absorption Rate

23. Milton-Freewater, OR 24.

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Homes for Sale Vs. Pended Vs. Sold Average Price per Square Foot Average Price For Sale and Sold Average Days on the Market Months of Inventory Absorption Rate

30. Hermiston, OR 31.

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Homes for Sale Vs. Pended Vs. Sold Average Price per Square Foot Average Price For Sale and Sold Average Days on the Market Months of Inventory Absorption Rate

37. Pullman, WA 38.

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Homes for Sale Vs. Pended Vs. Sold Average Price per Square Foot Average Price For Sale and Sold Average Days on the Market Months of Inventory Absorption Rate

45. Meet Our Agents

COLUMBIA BASIN REGION

April 25, 2022

1st Quarter Economic Review Columbia Basin Region As many of you know I am on the Washington Realtors Association Legislative Committee. We held our spring conference on April 19th through April 21st. I thought I would use this forum to bring you up to date on most of the issues in Washington as well as Oregon.

Washington This was a short session in light of the election this fall but interestingly enough that didn’t stop legislators from putting over 1,000 bills in front of the House and Senate for some discussion.

Clearly everyone seems to have some agenda they want to accomplish. For example, it is clear Governor Inslee wants his legacy to be the environment. While others are talking about affordable housing, tax reform, better highways, increased spending, decreased spending and so forth and so on.

Who is watching all of this, coordinating the efforts to some positive result for all? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? In theory we the people make our ideas known to our State Representatives that’s where they are debated, prioritized and when approved passed onto the Senate. The State Senate then is to make sure the left hand knows what the right hand is doing by coordinating the various efforts on related topics or bills. Once these are approved by vote then on to the Governor’s office for approval, veto or clarification.

Let me share my interpretation of some actual topics to quickly illustrate how difficult or these discussions can be. For example, let’s take the Governor’s initiative to have all electric cars by 2030 or the reduction in carbon emissions by electrifying all homes. By this I mean the elimination of natural gas and other forms of heat or power appliances in the home.

This sounds good and can be accomplished. We have a nonrenewable energy source in waterpower to produce electricity. Hydropower produced by our dams provides us with some of the most efficient and cheapest power in the country. If you don’t think so just take a look at the number of data centers that have been built by Amazon, Google, Facebook and others from Quincy WA. or Hermiston Oregon.

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Now let’s take a look at this one action from the Governor’s office and how it could affect our economic balance. Decreasing carbon omissions produced by automobiles or in using electric furnaces and appliances naturally will increase the need for more electricity.

The threats to this idea are: 1.

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Regulatory – Did you notice above I described Hydropower as nonrenewable energy source.

This is because the federal government has not recognized hydro power as a renewable energy source (Ridiculous).

Environmental – Patagonia a maker of clothing by the same name raises approximately $10 million a year to lobby for removal of the dams to save the salmon.

Bonneville Power – The administration has already indicated in certain areas of the Columbia Basin given our growth. It appears BPA does not have the power to resell to the market even if the effort to remove the dams fail.

Cost of Environmental Change – the impact to the housing industry to produce all electric homes increased the cost of owning a home as much as $35,000 in 2021.

The increase in housing costs further exasperated a short supply of homes in all price ranges.

These cost increases made it much more difficult to solve the affordability problem.

Washington Law Makers tried to help by stream lining the permitting process, allowing more flexibility in making zoning changes to accommodate condo reform, allowing 2-4 family homes in single family neighbors, allowing ADU’s in single family or rural areas.

This density can put a strain on existing highways and have a major impact on traffic patterns. A good example is on Broadmoor Blvd in Pasco where this is to be a Costco and other commercial development along side what could be up to 1500 homes.

The revenue for improving our infrastructure is or could come from gas taxes, real estate taxes or other sources.

The ultimate questions are how do we tackle all of these interrelated issues.

My point wasn’t to be political by blaming one party or the other but to prove these are broad complex issues our legislators are facing in Washington and Oregon.

Our mission as Washington and Oregon Realtors are to protect property rights of individuals. The first paragraph of The Realtors Pledge is: “I pledge to protect the individual right of real estate ownership and to widen the opportunity to enjoy it. “The issues above make widening the opportunity to enjoy it much more difficult.

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On that note the major achievements of the Washington Realtors for 2021-22 were: 1. Defeating the proposed capital gains tax on real estate transactions.

2. Providing guidelines to the legislature that would enhance the building of residential units through Condo Reform, enhancement to zoning changes, encouraging a process to streamline changes related to developing land for housing in a effort to get inventory to market quicker.

3. Delaying “Net Ecological Gain”. This bill requires a SEPA study on public projects protection of animals, insects and plants in the area of public construction paid for by increased real estate taxes. We are not out of danger yet as this bill it passed the House but Washington Realtor were able to get it stopped in the Senate. For now.

Oregon While I am NOT on the legislative committee in Oregon, we try to keep close tabs on this at a local level.

The following are excerpts from a News release from Office of the Senate President Oregonians have weathered disruptions to work schedules, schools, and child care. Many have struggled to make ends meet as the wealth gap has widened. To address this, Democrats focused their efforts around five priorities: 1. Housing & Homelessness: a. Through HB 5202, invests $400 million to increase affordable housing development, preserve at-risk manufactured housing, build community resiliency through individual development accounts, and expand homeownership support and counseling, address homelessness and connect people with shelter and critical services, build on investments to increase the supply of affordable housing, and keep Oregonians in affordable homes.

2. Supporting working families and small businesses: a. The Legislature is focused on building an economy that works for everyone. That’s why this session, the Legislature supported over $200 million in investments in career pathways and programs to retain and attract workers in critical sectors, including healthcare, behavioral health, education, manufacturing, technology, and construction. b. In addition a $100 million investment to help rebuild critical infrastructure in rural Oregon to support local economies and create jobs. “These will be transformational investments to improve rural communities for generations and create hundreds of good paying jobs,” Representative David Gomberg (D-Central Coast) said. “As our infrastructure ages, small towns are looking at big price tags to replace or repair water and sewer systems, bridges, and public buildings. Now with the state’s help and federal dollars on the way, we can bring lasting change to rural communities across our state.”

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3. Driving down the cost of living; a. A $100 million investment to expand access to affordable child care and help Oregon’s child care workforce b. Also passed House Bill 4157, approving a $600 one-time payment to a quarter of a million low-wage households who qualify for and utilize the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This will help cover the cost of daily essentials like prescriptions, diapers and groceries.

4. Investing in community safety and violence prevention; a. The Legislature also passed Senate Bill 1510 to reduce traffic stops for infractions like broken tail lights that aren’t dangerous, so law enforcement can focus on stopping serious and violent crimes. “This bill is based on the value that everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbor hood,” said Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas), chair of the House Committee on Judiciary. “By ensuring law enforcement can focus on serious crime and taking proven steps to reduce recidivism, we can build a public safety system that promotes equitable treatment and protects every Oregonian.”

5. Supporting stronger schools. a. Democrats approved a $300 million investment to increase summer learning support and make our schools stronger by supporting educators facing extreme burnout. $7.5 million to extend the Oregon Strong Start program, which bridges the transition from high school to college for students from high poverty and BIPOC communities across Oregon. b. $120 million to relocate Harriet Tubman Middle School to another site in the Albina area with better air quality Of course, there is no mention on how the Legislature proposes to pay for all of this but we know a couple of things.

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You cannot pay for sustained growth by continuing to tax the only group that full supports the economy and that is the Citizens of Oregon.

2. You cannot encourage investments of capital while limiting the payment for risk thru rent controls.

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Growth Management/Housing Issues- Washington 2022 Legislature PASSED: SB 5818 (Salomon) – SEPA Reform: Expands SEPA categorical exemptions relating to new housing, and provides appeal protections for certain development regulations that increase housing capacity and affordability.

HB 1769 (Duerr) – Community Councils: Terminates certain community municipal corporations (“community councils”) that were originally created for the purpose of providing community input on municipal annexation and early GMA implementation.

SB 5758 (Gildon) – Condominium Conversions: Directs WA Housing Finance Commission to create first-time homebuyer program for tenants of buildings converting to condominium ownership, and creates review process at the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) to recommend improvements to the condominium conversion process.

SB 5042 (Salomon) – GMA Vesting: Delays vesting of land use permit applications relating to expansion of an UGA or other actions to 60 days after publication of notice of the action, or if an appeal if filed with the Growth Board, the date on which the Board’s final order is issued.

HB 1717 (Pollet) – Tribal Consultation in GMA Planning: Creates process for cities and counties to enter into agreements with federally-recognized tribes regarding tribal consultation over GMA planning.

SB 5593 (Short) – Expansion of Urban Growth Areas: Allows expansion of Urban Growth Areas to contiguous areas to reflect development patterns, if there is no increase in overall size of UGA and limited impacts to critical areas.

HB 1738 (Peterson) - Housing Finance Commission Debt: Increases the Housing Finance Commission’s debt limit from $8 billion to $14 billion.

HB 1241 (Duerr) – GMA Planning Timelines: Changes GMA planning cycle 8 years to 10 years, and adds a mid-point 5 year progress report; extends the deadline for the 2024 update cycle (King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish) by 6 months.

SB 5275 (Short) - Local Areas of More Intense Rural Development Areas: Allows development within a LAMIRD if providers of utilities confirm that there is sufficient capacity to serve new or increased demand. Commercial development must be primarily designed to serve the needs to rural populations.

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DID NOT PASS: SB 5670 (Das)/HB 1782 (Bateman) – Middle Housing: Would have allowed different Middle Housing types within a ¼ or ½ mile of major transit in certain cities; lesser amounts of Middle Housing in other areas of certain cities.

HB 1117 (Lekanoff) – GMA/Net Ecological Gain: Created “Net Ecological Gain” standard for GMA Comprehensive Plans and all public projects, and integrated salmon recovery and fish barrier removal plans with local GMA plans.

HB 1099 (Duerr) – GMA/Climate Change: Created Greenhouse Gas and Vehicle Miles Travelled Reduction Sub-Element for GMA Comp Plans in certain counties and cities, and Climate Change preparation/ resiliency Sub-Element for all GMA planning jurisdictions.

HB 1157 (Bateman)/SB 5390 (Liias) – Density Incentive Zones: Provided a portion of the state REET for cities that create zones with increased housing density, with limitations on how state REET funds can be spent.

HB 1660 (Shewmake) – Accessory Dwelling Units: Established minimum allowed Accessory Dwelling Unit regulations within urban growth areas, and prevented local governments from adopting development regulations to limit or condition ADUs. HB 1770 (Duerr) - Energy Codes: Required State Building Code Council (SBCC) to adopt a residential reach code for optional adoption by any city that achieves a 70 percent reduction in energy consumption; required state building code to ensure new buildings are net carbon zero ready.

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TRI-CITIES PASCO 10.

APRIL 2022

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Homes for sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

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APRIL 2022

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Average price per SQFT Sold

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APRIL 2022

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Average price of

For Sale & Sold

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APRIL 2022

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Average number of days on the market

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APRIL 2022

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Months of inventory based on closed sales

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APRIL 2022

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Absorption rate based on closed sales

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WALLA WALLA 17.

APRIL 2022

WALLA WALLA

Homes for sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

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APRIL 2022

WALLA WALLA

Average price per SQFT Sold

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APRIL 2022

WALLA WALLA

Average price of

For Sale & Sold

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APRIL 2022

WALLA WALLA

Average number of days on the market

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APRIL 2022

WALLA WALLA

Months of inventory based on closed sales

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APRIL 2022

WALLA WALLA

Absorption rate based on closed sales

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MILTON - FREEWATER 24.

APRIL 2022

MILTON-FREEWATER

Homes for sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

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APRIL 2022

MILTON-FREEWATER

Average price per SQFT Sold

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APRIL 2022

MILTON-FREEWATER

Average price of

For Sale & Sold

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APRIL 2022

MILTON-FREEWATER

Average number of days on the market

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APRIL 2022

MILTON-FREEWATER

Months of inventory based on closed sales

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APRIL 2022

MILTON-FREEWATER

Absorption rate based on closed sales

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HERMISTON 31.

APRIL 2022

HERMISTON

Homes for sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

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APRIL 2022

HERMISTON

Average price per SQFT Sold

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APRIL 2022

HERMISTON

Average price of

For Sale & Sold

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APRIL 2022

HERMISTON

Average number of days on the market

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APRIL 2022

HERMISTON

Months of inventory based on closed sales

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APRIL 2022

HERMISTON

Absorption rate based on closed sales

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PULLMAN 38.

APRIL 2022

PULLMAN

Homes for sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

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APRIL 2022

PULLMAN

Average price per SQFT Sold

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APRIL 2022

PULLMAN

Average price of

For Sale & Sold

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APRIL 2022

PULLMAN

Average number of days on the market

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APRIL 2022

PULLMAN

Months of inventory based on closed sales

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APRIL 2022

PULLMAN

Absorption rate based on closed sales

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MEET OUR AGENTS

Dennis Gisi

Ken Butler

Kathryn Stangel

Owner/Broker/Realtor® Owner/Broker/Realtor® Owner/Broker/Realtor® (509) 301-9295 (509) 301-4212 Licensed in WA & OR (509) 520-0505

WALLA WALLA

Sarah Bergman (509) 240-6826

Chris Brizendine (509) 540-8304

Molly Butler (509) 200-0342

Christina Magnaghi (509) 301-3400

Tucker Stringham (509) 730-0830

Elias Meza (509) 240-2221

Lewis Key (509) 520-4938

Elias Meza (509) 240-2221

Andreas Salinas (509) 200-5284

MILTON-FREEWATER

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Robert Gisi (509) 520-5001

Lewis Key (509) 520-4938

TRI-CITIES PASCO

Daniel Aguirre (509) 494-2918

Rhonda Alberts (509) 366-5506

Matthew Flores (509) 302-5640

Gary Graber (509) 521-3316

Geoff Guidry (509) 727-3805

Jay Hendler (415) 706-6469

Cheryl Hoitink (509) 741-6050

Amy Honeywell (509) 432-9329

Jason Huffman (509) 521-2522

Harnoor Mahal (509) 396-8396

Terry Parrish (509) 521-2410

Javier Ramirez (541) 310-0895

Tony Verret (509) 851-2276

Juan Zuniga (509) 302-7837

Melissa Romero (509) 203-5844

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Debbi Schmoe (248) 759-9500

Tricia Brimer (509) 528-2343

Teri Seidl (509) 430-2755

Elsa B. Carlson (509) 430-5441

Wendy de Jesus (509) 430-3862

HERMISTON

Don Brewer (541) 215-0590

Myrna Dorn (541) 720-8993

Sheryl Mashos (541) 922-8182

Dalia Villegas (541) 314-7046

Grace Westfall (541) 314-1330

Debora Wood (541) 571-0922

Phil Otto (541) 701-5087

Debbi Schmoe (248) 759-9500

“Living Life as a Contribution”

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FIVE LOCATIONS | ONE TEAM Tri-Cities Pasco

Walla Walla

Pullman

Milton-Freewater

5109 N Road 68, Ste E Pasco, WA 99301 509.547.5542

10 S. 4th Ave Walla Walla, WA 99362 509.529.6800

1215 Northwest Orion Drive, Pullman, WA 99163 509.432.9329

18 S. Columbia St. 985 N. 1st St. Milton Freewater, OR 97862 Hermiston, OR 97838 541.938.9000 541.567.8303

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Hermiston