In The News - 6/18/2024
The Spokesman Review
Is local housing market finally leveling?
While average home in Spokane Co. saw slight decrease in value, wages haven’t kept up with market
Assessments from 2024 show the average Spokane County home saw a decrease in value year over year, the first decline in the region in more than a decade and a potential indication the market is leveling after years of stark increases.
“It’s nice that we are returning to more of a normal Spokane market,” said Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis. “Because what we have gone through the last three or four years before that was not normal.”
The value of the average Spokane County house dropped year over year from $431,728 to $428,617, a minimal 0.72% decrease.
The drop follows a modest 2.4% boost from 2022 to 2023, and a nearly $100,000 jump from 2021 to 2022.
Homeowners across the county have or will receive their property assessments for the 2025 tax year mailed by the assessor’s office late last month. The valuations are the county’s estimates as of Jan. 1 and tend to be lower than what a property would fetch on the market, and vary in decreases and increases from neighborhood to neighborhood.
The largest chunk of a homeowner’s taxes – often more than 50% – goes to schools. About 15% of Spokane County property taxes goes to cities and towns. Fire districts get about 12% of the pie, and the county government receives 8%. Smaller pieces go toward road funds, libraries, cemeteries and parks.
Spokane County home values have more than doubled in the last seven years, growing from an average of $209,659 in 2018 to around $430,000 for the past two tax years. Tom Hormel, president of Spokane Realtors, said the minimal change year over year is an indicator the market is leveling out.