HERE'S YOUR WEEKLY LISTING REVIEW FOR

722 Panorama Dr

Hi Laurie & Dennis,

We had no showings or new offers this week. However, an agent recently reached out to let us know that his buyers are interested in the property, and we are currently waiting to hear back from them regarding their level of interest and whether they would like to move forward. Vacant land typically requires more patience, as buyers often take additional time to evaluate factors such as access, utilities, buildability, and overall value. Given the recent interest and the lack of enough activity to identify a specific issue with the property, I would not recommend a price reduction at this time. I think we should continue holding our current position and see whether this interested buyer progresses or additional activity develops before considering any price adjustment.

I’ve spoken with most of you about concerns surrounding the wildfires and what their impact could mean for the Spokane housing market. We now have a clearer picture following the official count of homes lost. While we had been hearing estimates of around 900 structures, the final count shows that fewer than 300 homes were actually destroyed. This is, of course, still a significant tragedy for the families affected, but from a broader market perspective, the impact appears more limited than initially feared. Even if roughly 40–60% of those affected families choose to rebuild or purchase another home locally, that would represent approximately 120–180 additional households entering the market. Compared with roughly 3,100 homes currently available, that represents a relatively small portion of overall inventory rather than a major long-term shift in market dynamics. Additionally, many of the homes affected were in higher price ranges, meaning the resulting demand will likely be concentrated in similar price brackets. Buyers who are looking to remain near their existing schools, families, and communities are also more likely to stay within the same general areas, while relocating farther away will likely represent a smaller portion of those affected.

In the short term, the fires have understandably made some buyers more cautious, particularly around insurance availability and costs. However, we are already seeing buyer activity begin to pick back up. In fact, we’ve had four buyer offers written in the last seven days, with nearly all of those buyers negotiating approximately 3% off the purchase price or an equivalent amount in seller concessions. For sellers, this reinforces what we’ve been seeing throughout the market: buyers are still active, but they are being more strategic about price and value. The opportunity is still there, but properties need to be positioned competitively to convert buyer interest into offers.

– Haydn