Real Estate Report: Inventory Expanding; Pierce, Thurston Buck Broader Sales-Price Declines
Jul 7, 2026, 9:40 AM
South Sound Business
Originally published on South Sound Business.
Homebuyers in June had the greatest selection of homes this year, with total active listings up 16.4% year over year and 8% from May, resulting in 23,088 homes on the market and continuing a gradual shift toward more balanced conditions, according to a Northwest Multiple Listing Service report for its 27-county service area.
Total active listings for single-family homes and condominiums combined in Pierce and Thurston counties rose 14.6% and 29.3%, respectively, from June 2025, NWMLS data showed. Thurston County posted the fourth-largest increase among the 27 counties.
Despite elevated mortgage rates and ongoing affordability challenges, buyers remained active throughout the 27 counties, Kirkland-based NWMLS said in its report for June.
Closed sales increased 2.3% compared to June 2025 and 10.2% from May, reflecting continued demand as the summer market gained momentum, according to NWMLS. The number of closed sales for homes and condos in Pierce County rose 14% from a year ago and fell 3.5% in Thurston County.
The median sales price for homes and condos combined throughout the 27 counties held steady at $650,000 for the third consecutive month, but it was 3% lower than June 2025. In Pierce County, the median sales price was $595,000, up 2.8% from a year ago. In Thurston County, the median was $560,000, up 1.8%.
Looking at single-family homes only, Pierce County posted a median sales price of $604,997, up 2.6% from June 2025. The most expensive Pierce County submarket, an area located in North Tacoma, was almost $1.6 million, up 115.2% on just three sales.
In Thurston County, the single-family home median sales price was $562,500, up 2.3%. The northwest county submarket registered the highest median, $875,000, up 67.5% on nine sales.
Other South Sound area counties’ single-family home medians and percent change from June 2025 were: Kitsap, $592,000, down 1.3%; Mason, $429,950, down 1.7%; Grays Harbor, $345,000, down 4.7%; Lewis, $464,800, up 6.4%; and Jefferson, $583,750, down 12.3%.
Pierce County condos sold at a median of $400,000, down 5.9%. The University Place/Fircrest submarket had the priciest condo median, almost $1.1 million, up 228.8% on just one sale versus one sale a year ago of $327,000.
Thurston county’s median for condos was $353,000, down 3%. The Tumwater submarket recorded a median of $589,900 on just one sale versus no sales in that submarket in June 2025.
While inventory continues to increase across much of Washington, mortgage rates remain an important factor influencing affordability and buyer activity, the report said.
“At the end of February 2026, 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates had reached their lowest point since September 2022: 5.98%,” Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, said in the NWMLS report. “Then the war with Iran started, resulting in increased inflation and, in turn, higher interest rates. By the end of June, rates had risen by just over half a percentage point to 6.49%, which was also the average rate for the month and slightly higher than the average for May. Not surprisingly, median home prices across the NWMLS service area were unchanged from the previous month and 3% below last year’s level. Closed sales increased about 2% year over year but continued to lag the approximately 16% increase in active listings, consistent with the decline in median prices.”
