AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

The Tacoma real estate market was hit quite hard by the nationwide economic recession, but also has the potential to recover from these losses at a somewhat faster pace than the rest of the damaged areas of the country. In fact, Tacoma was noted by US News and World Report as one of the “10 Hard-Hit Housing Markets That Are Ready to Rebound.” According to the article, written on October 1, 2009 by Luke Mullins, “With about 200,000 residents, Tacoma is the second-largest city in Washington’s lovely Puget Sound region. The city’s abundance of government jobs, bountiful outdoor activities, and proximity to Seattle – just 32 miles away – helped drive home prices higher during the first half of the decade. But as the national housing crash picked up steam, Tacoma saw its real estate market decline sharply…Still, Moody’s economy.com expects the market to bounce back strongly, with home prices increasing 22 percent by the first quarter of 2012.”

Additionally, Tacoma and Seattle homes for sale were less moved by foreclosures and short sales than in previous months. According to an article written on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “Foreclosure filings in the Seattle metropolitan area were up in September compared with August, bucking a trend that saw the month-to-month rate decline nationally, according to a report by Realty Trac.” The piece, written by Gerry Spratt, also noted that “The foreclosure rate in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area was 37 percent in September from a year ago and 6.5 percent from August. The year-over-year increase in filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – was higher than the national rate of 29 percent. Nationally, September foreclosure rates were down 4 percent from August.”

Real estate in Tacoma had some other bright spots as well, although Clark County was still in serious shape relative to the rest of Washington State. According to an October 15, 2009 article in the Columbian by Cami Joner, “Clark County’s foreclosure rate in September went from the worst in the state to second worst, behind neighboring Cowlitz County…Clark County’s July total of 629 foreclosures – the most this year – prompted some to speculate that totals retreated in August and September because of national modification programs and a new state law that became effective July 27.”