Housing demand and lack of inventory skyrocketing Gorge housing prices
Construction workers at Park Place subdivision near Sorosis Park in The Dalles were hard at it on Wednesday, Sept. 15. High housing demand is keeping the construction trade on its heels.
By Tom Peterson
Wasco County and the entire Columbia River Gorge are seeing a housing market like no other.
Inventories are remaining at an all-time low and prices are continuing on a skyrocketing trajectory.
Home prices are up 24 percent in the last year with average prices jumping $92,200 in the four-county area - Wasco, Hood River, Skamania and Klickitat.
Realtor JIm Wilcox with Columbia River Properties
It all adds up to a housing crunch Gorge wide as people on the lower end of the income spectrum are priced out of the market.
“Only maybe 10 percent of the population can purchase above $350,000,” said Jim Wilcox, Realtor with Columbia River Properties. “80 percent of listings are above that. You just cut out most of your buyers.”
Realtors agree. They’ve seen nothing like it in the expanse of their careers.
Realtor Bill Irving with Copper West Properties said it’s the strongest uptick in demand and increased prices he’s ever seen. He started in the business in 2003, and he is currently selling lots at the 88-lot Lone Pine subdivision near The Dalles Bridge.
It recently sold out of riverfront properties that were listed at $235,000. And they are in to selling the third and final phase of the development, owned by Lone Pine Land and Cattle, LLC. Four of the 12 lots are reserved, leaving a total of 14 lots left.
Builder James Green said he had constructed multiple homes at the subdivision in the past year, and lots in the $90,000 to $110,000 price range were selling fast.
James Green is building this custom home in the Lone Pine Subdivision with a nice view of The Dalles Dam and Columbia River. Neighboring riverfront lots have sold out with an asking price of $235,000.
The Dalles, hemmed in by the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area boundary, is feeling the crunch.
Higher prices in Hood River, White Salmon have people headed east to The Dalles where property is still relatively inexpensive. In addition, urban flight has landed telecommuters in The Dalles as well, said Irving.
“Lots of folks do not have to go to offices five days a week,” he said. “They’re leaving urban areas and going to small towns that have a nice quality of life now that they have more flexible work options.”
“I think one of the drivers of the demand in The Dalles has been the price increment in Hood River and White Salmon, where people are just priced out of those markets.”
“Price-wise, yes, The Dalles is a good value,” he said.
So when a property comes for sale in The Dalles, it does not last long - just 30 days on average in August. Days on market stood at 121 in 2015.
Low Housing Stocks
Just 33 active house listings were in The Dalles during August, said Wilcox.
That competes with all-time historic lows for housing stocks for the area.
And prices have jumped $104,600 on the year according to Wilcox’s rolling tabulation with an average price currently of $396,900 in The Dalles.
“It’s getting worse,” Willcox said, noting The Dalles ability to house people was shrinking. He also pointed out that the average number of people living in a house has reduced from 4.5 in the 1950s to just a little more than 2 currently per household.
In response to the need for housing, developers have split 8 larger properties into 23 lots in the last eight months, according to City of The Dalles Planning records, making way for more residential housing.
Builders are humping. But they can’t outstrip the current demand.
Curtiss Homes, owned by Emily and Cameron Curtis, also started into the second phase of their Park Place 33-lot subdivision west of Sorosis Park. And they were running full out earlier this week, with construction crews working on two homes on 21st Street.
Emily Curtis said there is no word on when they plan to start on the 80-unit subdivision called The Grove, at 2845 E. 12th Street in Thompson’s edition in East The Dalles.
Realtor Bill Irving with Copper West Properties
Outlook
Wilcox believes home prices would plateau in the near future as buyers will stumble on inflating prices.
“What I am seeing all over is some slowing in the market,” Wilcox said, noting recent national numbers show a slowing in 10 urban areas including Portland.
Irving said he saw no slow in demand.
“The demand side of things is not going to change for the Gorge region,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be on the same pricing trajectory, but the demand is going to be there for the foreseeable future. All our communities are going to be challenged to meet that demand.”
Irving also pointed to a trickle-down effect from expensive housing.
“We have a pretty critical labor shortage in the Gorge. A lot of businesses are not fully staffed. …they are not able to get and retain employees because of housing prices. We as a community need to figure out how to provide affordable and attainable housing for our workforce.”
This triplex is currently for sale at $499,000 - built in 1900 at 506 E. Fourth Street it has 3,628 square feet.
