Cowlitz County, WA housing market

What this means

• Valuation. Prices are 34% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
• Prices. Home values are flat over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
• Supply. There are 29% more homes for sale than the 2017-19 norm and rising (+9% vs. a year ago), so buyers have more to choose from than before the pandemic.
• Negotiating. Buyer leverage is high (71/100; U.S.: 54): homes sell for about 1.0% below their final list price; 37% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
• Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 40% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $102k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,357 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
• Buy vs. rent. Buying costs about $1,105/mo more than renting a typical home (mortgage payment vs. typical rent).
• Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $248 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding. Flood isn't covered by standard homeowners insurance.
• Outlook. No clear direction: likely −7% to +9% over the next 12 months (65% chance of a rise).

Next 12 months

No clear direction

A rise is somewhat more likely than a fall, but not by enough to call. Likely change: −7.3% to +9.1% (80% range; middle estimate +2.2%), chance of a rise 65%, of a 5%+ drop 15%.

HouseVane's model, refit every month on local market signals and national ones, trained only on data known at the time. How accurate it has been.

ZIP codes in Cowlitz County, WA