Is the fall of 2024 the best time to buy a cabin in Leavenworth?
Is Leavenworth a buyer’s market for cabins in 2024?
Buyers watching Zillow and the MLS are seeing increased inventory and price reductions are common, so it’s interesting to ask if Leavenworth is now a buyer’s market. The Leavenworth real estate market is made of a few different sectors and price ranges, so we will specifically look at whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market for cabins in Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee.
What is a cabin?
For the purposes of statistics, we are not using the traditional style or aesthetic of a cabin that you might imagine. Instead we are defining it with some easily searchable terms.
- Located outside of the city limits of Leavenworth
- Single family, stick built construction – not a condo or manufactured home
- Lot size less than 1 acre.
- Price between $400,000 and $1,000,000.
The market for Leavenworth cabins
In the past 12 months (the end of 2023 and the first half of 2024, roughly) 29 homes that meet this definition of a cabin sold in the Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee area.
These Leavenworth cabins sold for a median price of $680,000 and were listed on the market for a median of just 35 days on market.
For buyers looking to purchase a cabin in Leavenworth, there are now 30 homes listed for sale. The median list price of a Leavenworth cabin is $699,000.
Based on this rate of sales, there are 12 months of supply! Anything more than 6 months would be considered a buyer’s market and 12 months suggests that buyers have a strong advantage.
When we look at days on market, the median cabin listing has been on the market for almost 90 days. After 3 months, one might expect that sellers are willing to negotiate on price.
Price reductions are also commonplace. Currently 70% of the cabins listed for sale have reduced their list price, some of them many times. 30% of listings normally require a price reduction, but 70% tells us that sellers and their agents are not correctly pricing for today’s market.
Not every house in Leavenworth is a cabin
Buyers would be wise to remember that this report only covers a small subset of homes for sale in the Leavenworth market. Many home types are not covered here and not all sectors of the market favor buyers.
In fact, some sectors are strong seller’s markets and could result in bidding wars!
Buyers shouldn’t expect discounts for:
- Houses on Lake Wenatchee
- Houses on Fish Lake
- Riverfront homes on the Wenatchee River
- Riverfront homes on Icicle Creek
- Houses on acreage
- Ski Hill homes on 1 acre
- Houses with Short Term Rental Permits
- Leavenworth Condominiums that can be rented as AirBnb
- Multifamily properties such as duplexes or triplexes
Buyers recognize value
The other key factor to remember is that there will always be sales and even bidding wars in a buyer’s market. Buyers recognize value and there will still be many properties that sell quickly, even if the majority do not.
At this moment there are 7 homes in Leavenworth that are currently pending/ under contract that meet our definition of a cabin.
5 of these homes accepted offers in less than 2 weeks. While many homes are sitting on the market for longer periods, good properties, priced well, will continue to sell quickly.
Required disclaimers:
Information and statistics derived from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Additionally, this representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.
