By DON FENLEY
December Tri-Cities home sales closed 2025 with 627 sales, up 10.4% from last year. The median sales price of $290,000 was up 7.9% from last year.
It was the conclusion of a year that proved more resilient than seasonal expectations. While December typically reflects year-end slowing, this year’s finish aligned closely with the region’s late-year normalization pattern rather than signaling weakness.
While overall sales volume held steady in December, the internal structure of the market makes clear where demand remains concentrated.
Affordable homes priced between $160,000 and $299,999 generated 411 sales, firmly anchoring December’s market. This segment absorbed the largest share of demand, underscoring that affordability pressure has not reduced buyer participation. Instead, it pushed buyers higher within the price spectrum.
Move-up homes in the $300,000 to $499,999 range recorded 213 sales, highlighting the continued strength of equity-driven and dual-income buyers.
Together, these two segments accounted for the overwhelming majority of December activity, reinforcing a key takeaway: the Tri-Cities housing market remains active where pricing aligns with today’s affordability realities and household balance sheets.
Luxury sales above $500,000 remained selective but supportive of overall stability, while transactions below $160,000 continued to play a limited role in shaping market direction.
Sales below $100,000 remained minimal and largely disconnected from mainstream demand, reinforcing that today’s functional market floor begins closer to $100,000.
December confirmed 2025 was a year marked not by contraction, but by rebalancing:
- Demand remained present
- Buyers became more selective
- Sellers faced clearer pricing consequences
- Volume migrated toward move-up and upper-tier segments
As the region enters 2026, December’s sales profile reinforces a familiar takeaway: the market is still moving forward, but success increasingly depends on understanding where buyers are willing, and able, to transact.
Categories: REAL ESTATE
Don,
I think for part of your year in review, to compare the same data at 5 year milestones and I think Nina has that data set. Show since 2000 ?
Would help those how our market has grown steadily before accelerating and stabilizing again? Just a thought.
Thanks Jerry, that will be the focus of the article later this month after Nina’s data is released. The comparison will focus on the 2025 annualized data by price bands compared to 2019 annual price bands. It will also include an analysis of the median sales price for the same period.