Yakima County's home prices for the third quarter of 2008 have declined year over year, the first time that has happened in three years.

The average median sales price for existing homes in the county during the third quarter was $156,400, a 2.3 percent decline from the same period a year ago, according the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University.

It's a big change from last year, when the Yakima metropolitan area reported the third highest price appreciation in the nation.

But the recent price decline shown in the WSU figures didn't come as a surprise to industry experts.

Headwaters -The Source, a Selah-based firm that provides historical data on real estate sales in Yakima County, has reported year-to-year sales declines for the county for most of 2008. With more homes on the market, sellers are forced to cut their prices.

"To exceed the previous year is just not going to happen, not in this business climate," said Kristi Wilbert, owner of Headwaters-The Source.

During the third quarter, the number of homes sold declined 18.6 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research.

"The more inventory we have in the market, the more it becomes a buyer's market," said Mike Kokenge of Coldwell Banker Associated Realtors in Yakima.

Doug Rich, broker of Prestige Realty in Yakima, said the tighter credit standards began taking shape during the third quarter, making it difficult for buyers to finance a home. And a tough national economy made things even harder.

"People's disposable incomes are under pressure and their liquidity is under pressure," he said. "That will cause buyers to not be as aggressive."

But even with a slight decline in the sales price, Yakima County is not facing the drastic declines that other markets through out the state and throughout the nation have dealt with for years.

The third quarter median price for existing homes in the state declined 10.4 percent, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research. Third quarter median home prices in nearby Kittitas County declined 17.2 percent year over year.

And many areas nationwide saw even greater declines.

Several markets in California continued to see deep declines.

In the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area, for example, prices during the third quarter of 2008 dropped 39.4 percent from the same period a year ago, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors.

Nationwide, the median home price during the third quarter of this year was $200,500, a 9 percent drop from the same period in 2007.

Though Yakima County saw prices increase for several years, it was never at the levels of other metropolitan areas, said Glenn Crellin, executive director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research.

"Just as you didn't see the big run up in prices, I don't expect that the Yakima market will see a significant reduction either," he said.

Even with a slight decline, median home prices during the third quarter of this year were 20.7 percent higher than during the third quarter of 2005, the last time the county saw a decline in existing home prices.

"I would anticipate that we'll see buyers back in the market sooner in (Yakima County) than in the more expensive places in the state," Crellin said.

Local real estate agents share the same optimism, though they don't expect to see any major changes until the spring, when the real estate market typically perks up from a slow winter season.

"I think, overall, things are going to be a little tight until people have more confidence the way the economy is going," Kokenge said.

* Mai Hoang can be reached at 577-7685 or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.