Taking the Temperature of Humboldt County Real Estate

With Spring at our doorstep our local climate isn't the only thing warming up, Humboldt's real estate market has also begun to stir as it wakes from its yearly hibernation. One small sign of that is an increase in new listing inventory. Over this past winter (11/1/23 - 3/18/24) we saw an average of 48 listings per week, meanwhile over the last three weeks, we've been averaging 71 new listings per week! Unfortunately we haven't seen interest rates drop yet though, as that would be the leading factor to encourage more buyers and investors to come out of the woodwork and join the party. A lot of people in our industry (agents, lenders, appraisers, inspectors, insurers) are anxiously awaiting the return of a strong market as this last year proved to be tough for some. We've already seen about 50 local real estate agents and a handful of lenders leave the business over the past year (as well as insurers, but for different reasons). Real estate is not the easiest career path, as 87% of real estate agents don't make it past year five in the business, and when you throw a sudden market shift in the mix at the tail end of a historically strong market...chaos ensues.

With all of that being said, I personally, am starting to see a trend where buyers, who were holding out in hopes for lower rates for the last year or two, are gearing up to house hunt again as they are simply tired of waiting for rates to drop. So who knows, maybe a forthcoming resurgence from buyers pairs perfectly with an increase in new listing volume and we have a more active and healthy market. I know some wish the market would stall even further, in hopes that it brings prices down. But I think Humboldt is in a unique economical situation because we are a beautiful and desirable area, that is generally cheaper than almost any other California coastal community, so we continue to see a lot of people moving into the area, with out of the area money. Which then points the finger to Humboldt's dire lack of quality careers and jobs. We simply don't have the appropriate level of income to match the increase in property values that COVID housing boom created. But here's to hope, hoping that we one day we do get the job opportunities we've been dreaming of, that perhaps Cal Poly does lift the tide for all of our boats, and that maybe, just maybe, rates come down a little and hopefully buyers can actually gain some buying power back!

Want to buy, sell or invest? Call me today at (707) 616-8752!

• New listings jumped to 79 this week, up from last weeks 62!

• Pending properties dipped twelve spots down to 32 this week.

• 28 properties closed escrow this week, compared to 22 that closed last week.

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If you find yourself dreaming of calling Humboldt County home look no further! By clicking the button below, you will be whisked away to my website where you'll have access to all of our local listings straight from Humboldt Counties Multiple Listing Services, aka the website real estate agents use to post their listings. As you can imagine, it is the most secure and accurate place to find detailed information on all of Humboldt Counties listings, so please tap below and get to searching! If you'd like, I can always create a property search for you, then as soon as a new listing hits the market that matches your desired criteria, it would automatically be sent straight to you!

March Market Report for Arcata

March Market Report for Eureka

March Market Report for McKinleyville

Current Interest Rates via Mortgage News Daily

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