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Tri-Cites Housing Market #1

By Kristi Paulus. Published Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Website ranks Tri-Cities number one in nation for growth in the housing market

Home prices are expected to drop eight percent nationwide this year, but not so in the Tri-Cities. In fact, home prices here are forecast to rise almost four percent, ranking the Tri-Cities number in the country for growth in the housing market according to the website smartmoney.com.

That's great news for home buyer John Sieh. For the past six months he has been looking for the perfect house; something in good condition, with a little bit of land.

Real estate agent Colleen Lane says this is a good time to buy, as she has seen the upward momentum in the market in the past year. The numbers reflect her experience. According to the Tri-City Association of Realtors, in February 2009, 1222 houses were on the market, and 145 under contract to sell. Forward a year later, last month 951 houses were on the market and 403 under contract.

Lane says buying now is likely a sound investment. Homes are likely to appreciate, rather than lose value, and home prices are reasonable.