Spokane-area single-family home purchases jumped 20 percent in February over the same month last year, a report released this week by the Spokane Association of Realtors shows.

Single-family homes on less than an acre  including condominiums—sold through the association’s Multiple Listing Service last month totaled 403, up compared to February 2017’s total of 336.

Last year, 8,137 single-family home sales were reported through the Spokane Multiple Listing Service, up from 7,601 in 2016, says Rob Higgins, the association’s executive vice president.

This year, the association expects home purchases to surpass the record reached in 2005, three years before the start of the Great Recession, Higgins says.

That year, the record for sales closed in a year was set at 8,373. Last year marked the second-highest number of home sales through the MLS, he says. 

The median sale price last month was $210,200, up nearly 14 percent compared with February 2017 median sales price of $185,000.

Meanwhile, inventory—the number of homes listed on the market through the MLS—was down last month almost 16 percent compared with February 2017. The report shows the inventory at the beginning of March totaled 924 properties, represents 2.3 months of supply. Less than five months of inventory is considered a sellers’ market.

In an interview with the Journal at the beginning of February, Higgins said, “We just don’t have the new construction now that we did in ‘03, ‘04, and ‘05. Builders still feel the hangover from the recession and don’t want an oversupply. There’s very little spec building in Spokane County going on.”

The association’s report for last month also says sales of foreclosed homes fell to 6 percent last month compared to almost 12 percent in February 2017.