Colette Rarden, Realtor

Colette Rarden, Realtor Colette Rarden, REALTOR®, serving Issaquah to Ellensburg and everything in between for all your real estate needs.

From buying and selling vacant land, residential, investment and equestrian properties, we are here for you.

09/04/2026

Two lots. Over half an acre. A whole lot of possibilities.

These scenic parcels along the Teanaway River have officially sold! With a mix of wooded and open land, flat usable terrain, and easy access to the outdoors, this was a special opportunity for someone looking to create their own retreat in the Cle Elum area, and we can’t wait to see what comes next for this little piece of the Teanaway.

09/02/2026

We have the numbers in for August and it was a busy month! Kittitas County’s median sales price is down 4.4% from last year, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. With 20 more sales than this time last year, buyers are still active. Notably, Cle Elum’s median sales price has moved below $1 million.

Taken together, the numbers suggest a market that’s becoming more accessible while maintaining momentum. For buyers and sellers alike, today’s market calls for paying attention to the details and understanding local nuance.

08/28/2026

A home can be more than a list of features. It can be the place where your next chapter starts.

1410 N Cora Street is now pending, and this Ellensburg home offered a lot to imagine: a comfortable 3-bedroom layout, a fully fenced backyard, a two-car garage, and a location close to Mount Stuart Elementary, CWU, and downtown.

Whether you're imagining yourself in your next home or wondering what your own property could accomplish on the market, I am here to help you make the move.

Thinking about buying or selling in Ellensburg? Let's talk.

08/26/2026

With so much active inventory sitting on the market for well over a month, sellers entering the market this late in the year have a bit of an advantage: the market is showing us what’s sitting, and at what price.

This is extremely helpful information for anyone considering selling. We can also compare features and amenities to identify opportunities for a new listing to stand out.

It’s also worth noting that nearly 200 currently available listings are priced above $1 million, with most located in Cle Elum. That tells us there’s a substantial supply of luxury vacation homes looking for buyers.

Could this be the moment to find the perfect getaway at a great price? Maybe we should look together.

What does the Kittitas County market look like when you break it down by community?Our latest map shows the median sales...
08/20/2026

What does the Kittitas County market look like when you break it down by community?

Our latest map shows the median sales price in each Kittitas County municipality over the past six months. A few things to keep in mind when looking at the map:

• Ellensburg has the highest number of sales (178), followed by Cle Elum (110).
• Smaller markets like Snoqualmi Pass, Thorp, and Roslyn had fewer than 10 sales, so their median prices are based on much smaller samples.
• A median sales price describes the middle sale in a dataset; it does not mean that every home in that community is worth that amount.

This is a good reminder that Kittitas County is not a single market. Prices—and the volume of activity behind those prices—can look very different from one community to the next.

08/18/2026

Buyers are still active: 41 listings went pending during the week. But with 45 price reductions compared with 31 new listings, sellers appear to be adjusting their pricing to compete for that buyer attention.

That's consistent with the broader Kittitas County market, where July inventory stood at 6.8 months — giving buyers more choices and negotiating room than we've seen in a tighter market.

In other words: buyers haven't disappeared, but sellers can't assume that simply putting a home on the market will bring an offer. Pricing and positioning matter.

08/13/2026

Interest rates are up, and so are active listings. Did one cause the other? Not necessarily. There may be a relationship, but there are several factors at work.

First: Spring and summer are typically the time of year when we see more homes come onto the market. So some of the increase in active listings is likely seasonal.

Second: Higher interest rates can affect what buyers can afford. For example, the difference between a 6.1% and 6.6% interest rate on a $500K home with 5% down is roughly $155 per month in principal and interest.

For buyers who are shopping based on a monthly payment ceiling, that half-percentage-point increase can make a meaningful difference. With a $2,880 monthly principal-and-interest budget, the buyer's purchasing power has dropped by about $25K (from roughly $500K to $475K) between March and now. Even a relatively small change in rates can affect the price range some buyers can comfortably consider.

Third: The higher the price, the smaller the pool of buyers who can afford the home—regardless of where interest rates are. And there are a lot of higher-priced homes on the market right now. The median list price among today's active listings is $872,350, and 192 listings are priced above $1 million.

That's why we sholdn't confuse correlation with causation. Understanding our real estate market requires looking at the whole picture.

If you have questions about the market, give me a call! I love sharing my years of boots-on-the-ground experience.

08/06/2026

Look at that median sales price! July had the highest median sales price of the year, and you'd have to go all the way back to May 2023 to find a higher one.

So what's behind the jump?

The story is largely in Cle Elum. More than half of the city's July sales (14 of 27) closed for over $1 million. With its mix of luxury homes, resort communities, and new construction, Cle Elum naturally has a much higher price point than many other parts of Kittitas County.

That concentration of higher-end sales helped push the county's median sales price to its highest level this year. It doesn't necessarily mean every home in the county suddenly became more valuable—it reflects the mix of homes that sold during the month.

As Kittitas county grows, the market becomes more nuanced. For a a hot-take from boots-on-the-ground Realtors®, give us a call!

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Re/Max The Collective 208 E 1st Street
Cle Elum, WA
98922

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