America’s housing market boom made an impact on Grays Harbor County this past year. According to data recently released by the Grays Harbor County Assessor’s Office, most cities in the county experienced a notable increase in new construction values from 2020-21.

“Seeing the rate and growth of the county, we’re hitting unprecedented levels. I thought we would have a little bit of growth from last year, but we’re way beyond that,” said Brian Morrill, Chief Deputy for the Grays Harbor County Assessor’s Office.

While the county has mimicked national trends of higher home values and record low inventory, much of the new construction growth can be attributed to a boom in Ocean Shores in particular. With a new construction value of more than $78 million for 2021, Ocean Shores experienced more new construction this past year than all other cities in Grays Harbor County combined.

The proportional contribution of Ocean Shores to regional growth did not come as a surprise to Assessor Dan Lindgren. Retirees and remote workers moving out of urban settings have been drawn to the relative ease of building in the community, as well as other factors like beach access and recreational amenities.

“Ocean Shores is an ideal place for that because all the lots already have utilities, and building is fairly easy and inexpensive in comparison to elsewhere in the county,” said Lindgren.

He also credits some of the renewed interest in the North Beach area to the popularity of Seabrook and the increased number of vacationers along the area’s beaches.

Higher mortgage rates and rising inflation has made affordability a top consideration for home buyers in recent months. Ocean Shores is particularly well-poised to develop affordable homes for retirees and second home owners.

“Ocean Shores is designed well for growth. They plotted out the whole area down to the end of the peninsula to maximize the amount of parcels,” said Morrill. “They’re more affordable sized homes, they’re not the giant beach homes we would see right on the beach 20 years ago.”

Record-high housing prices have been driven by record-low inventory as the new home construction market continues its slow return to pre-Recession building levels. Residential permit activity has grown dramatically on the national scale over the past 18 months, a trend that is represented in the over 200 permits issued by the city of Ocean Shores this year.

Construction in Ocean Shores has vastly outpaced the rest of the county, but the region has benefited generally from a pandemic-driven housing market. The relative stability of real estate amid a volatile stock market, as well as the geographic flexibility afforded by remote work, has made Grays Harbor County an appealing destination for prospective homeowners.

“We’ve been ‘discovered’ by the general public as a good place to live and buy real estate,” said Lindgren.

Aberdeen had the second-highest new construction values this year at $9,704,081. According to Aberdeen Community Development Director Lisa Scott, the city has received 2,172 permits this year that are in various stages of approval.

While the number of permits issued by the city this year is only slightly higher than in 2020, this year represented a major increase in project valuation. In 2020, project valuation from permits in Aberdeen was $32,465,153, this year it was $101,446,211. This is due to a series of larger projects in the city.

Cosmopolis, Hoquiam, Montesano, and Westport also experienced around 200% increases in new construction values over the past year.

Cities hoping to use this new growth as an opportunity to realize large projects may have to reevaluate their perspective, according to Lindgren.

“As you add population, the government needs to grow with the population to make sure that everything is maintained. The system is not designed to give a windfall of extra money to the taxing districts, but to handle the additional cost of sewer, utilities, schools, firefighters, and street maintenance,” he said.

Low interest rates and shifting workplace dynamics caused real estate values to increase by 2% per month in Grays Harbor County on average in 2021. While many factors in the housing market boom will likely persist in the new year, the Federal Reserve recently announced a plan to fight rising inflation by implementing faster interest rate hikes in 2022. In order to combat rising prices, the Fed will raise interest rates three times next year.

“I think that will stabilize prices. The demand will still be there, but we’ll stop seeing the climbing of prices,” said Lindgren. “In my professional opinion, it’s still going to be a seller’s market for all of 2022.”