By Haydn Halsted — Halsted Hometeam, REAL Broker, LLC · (509) 570-2482

I’ve been selling homes in Spokane since January 2020. In that time, mortgage rates went from under 3% to over 7%, and the market swung from bidding wars to homes sitting for a month. The questions people ask me barely changed.

Here are the ones I hear most, from buyers and sellers, with my honest answer and the Spokane numbers behind it. Whether you’re moving into, out of, or across Spokane, odds are your question is in here.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House in Spokane?

I get this one more than any other, and I’m not going to pretend I know where prices or rates go next. Nobody does. What I can tell you is where things stand today.

The Spokane County median was $425,000 in September 2026, flat from a year earlier. Inventory sat at 3.6 months of supply, and the typical home sold for 99% of its asking price. That’s a market where buyers have room to negotiate, not one where they’re waiving everything to compete.

My answer: the right time to buy is when your life says it’s time and the payment works on your budget today. I’ve watched a lot of smart people wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment usually only shows up in hindsight.

Should I Wait for Mortgage Rates to Drop Before Buying in Spokane?

Rates averaged 7.40% on October 8, the highest weekly reading since November 2023, according to Freddie Mac. I understand the instinct to wait. But no one can tell you when rates will come down, including me, and waiting has its own costs.

Here’s what I’m seeing buyers do instead. This fall, buyers putting more than 10% down have sometimes asked sellers for more than 3% in concessions and used it to buy their interest rate down permanently. Whether that makes sense for you is a question for a licensed loan officer, but it’s one more option than just waiting.

Do Spokane Sellers Pay Buyer Closing Costs Right Now?

Most of the time, yes. In at least three out of four of my deals this fall, the seller has put money toward the buyer’s closing costs. When the buyer is paying cash, that same money usually shows up as a lower purchase price instead.

Most of my buyer clients are asking for it, because it lowers the cash they need to bring to closing. For sellers, that means a concession is part of almost every negotiation right now. It’s worth planning for before you list, not after the first offer comes in.

Can I Buy a Home in Washington Before I Move There?

Yes. Washington doesn’t require you to be a resident to buy here, and most of the process can happen from wherever you live now. Video tours, electronic signatures, and remote online notarization cover most of what used to require being in the room.

The details that trip people up are financing and timing, especially how soon a lender expects you to move in. I walk through all of it in buying a home in Spokane before you move.

Why Don’t Online Estimates Match What Spokane Homes Sell For?

Automated estimates work from public records and nearby sales. They can’t see a finished basement, an updated kitchen, a view, or a backyard that backs up to a busy arterial. Those are often the things that decide the price.

Spokane makes this harder than most markets. In older close-in neighborhoods, homes on the same block can be built decades apart and sit on very different lots. An algorithm averaging those sales can miss by a lot in either direction. What actually sets a price is what truly comparable homes have closed at recently, adjusted for what the algorithm can’t see.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a Home in Spokane Right Now?

Homes that sold in Spokane County in September 2026 spent a median of 26 days on market. From list date all the way to closing, the median was 63 days, and once under contract, the median time in escrow was 30 days.

The number I’d pay more attention to is this one: 42% of the listings that left the market in September expired or were withdrawn without selling. When the prep is right and the pricing is dialed in, the market moves. When it isn’t, homes sit, and in this market, a lot of them are sitting.

Selling in Fall vs Spring in Spokane: What Does the Data Show?

Spring brings more buyers. It also brings a lot more competition. From 2023 through 2025, Spokane County averaged about 1,144 new listings in May compared to 435 in December, so a spring seller is competing with more than twice as many homes.

Spring homes also moved faster in those years, with a median of about 8 days on market in May compared to about 25 in December. Sale-to-list ratios ran around 100% in May and June and around 98.5% in December. Fall and winter mean fewer buyers but less competition, and the buyers who are out tend to be serious.

That’s history, not a forecast. The right month depends on your timeline and your home. Every Spokane situation is different, from equity position to timeline to what comparable homes have actually closed at. Your next steps as a Spokane home seller walks through how that plays out from the first conversation to closing.

Do I Have to Pay the Buyer’s Agent Commission When I Sell in Washington?

Not automatically. Since January 1, 2024, Washington law has required buyers to sign a written agreement with their own agent that spells out how that agent gets paid. A seller can offer to cover some or all of it, or none of it, and buyers often ask for it in their offer.

Every commission, on either side, is negotiable and not set by law. It’s a conversation to have with your listing agent before you list, so you know how you’ll handle that request when it comes.

Should I Buy First or Sell First If I’m Moving Within Spokane?

It depends on where your down payment is coming from. If it’s tied up in your current home, you have three basic paths: sell first and find temporary housing, buy first using savings or a bridge loan, or write an offer that’s contingent on selling your home.

Selling first means you know your number but may need a place to stay. Buying first gets you the house but can mean two payments for a stretch. Bridge loans and qualifying with two payments are lender questions, so talk to a licensed loan officer before you choose. I handle both sides of these moves, and the plan always starts with the numbers, not the house.

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The questions buyers and sellers in Spokane ask most come down to timing, money, and process. This post covers whether now is a good time to buy in Spokane, what 7.4% mortgage rates and seller-paid closing costs mean for buyers this fall, why online estimates miss on Spokane homes, how long homes are taking to sell, and what the data shows about selling in fall versus spring. It also explains how buyer agent commissions work in Washington and what to check on older close-in homes and acreage around Spokane.