YELM HOME PERMITS WAY DOWN YEAR OVER YEAR
“As home sales have slowed, so has the number of new homes being built here, according to single-family residential building permits issued by the county and its four largest cities. Through July of this year compared with the same period in 2008, the single-family residential building permit data show:

Lacey: Permits fell 37 percent.

Tumwater: Permits fell 68 percent.

Yelm: Permits fell 47 percent.

Thurston County: Permits fell 26 percent.

Olympia: Permits rose 30 percent,” quoting The Olympian.

Ed. Note: This means a large drop in permit fees and construction tax revenue for the city of Yelm. Of course, with the city’s water issues discussed here previously in-depth, the city may be forced to stop issuing permits due to lack of allocated water allocations from Ecology!

“HOME SALES END LONG FALL”
“August was the best month for Thurston County home sales in more than two years: It was the first month since early 2007 that the number of homes sold increased from the year before.

Home sales here last month rose 10.8 percent to 336 units from 303 units in the same period last year, the first year-over-year increase in combined sales of single-family residences and condominiums since February 2007, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Friday. That month 295 homes sold in the county compared to 280 in February 2006.

In June of this year, sales of single-family residences exceeded those in June 2008, although overall sales of residences and condos still were lower than the year-ago period…

July and August are typically the busiest months of the year for home sales, but the market gained an additional boost from an influx of military families from Fort Lewis and those buyers wanting to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it expires at the end of November, Kitabayashi said [Mark Kitabayashi, president-elect of the Thurston County Realtors Association].

The homebuyers tax credit expires Nov. 30, and with the typical home sale taking 45 to 60 days to complete, buyers are getting into the market now before its too late, he said,” quoting The Olympian.