The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON – Gary Snyder, owner of Christy’s Realty in Dayton, said there has been a slight uptick in home sales since Columbia Pulp at Lyons Ferry broke ground in October. There have been a few sales to Columbia Pulp department heads, but most sales have been to people who are downsizing, are new to the area, and are here for jobs, or retirement.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Snyder said.

Snyder said he showed one property to two prospective buyers and had bids from both before he got the pictures up in the store window.

Snyder did say there is a scarcity of properties for sale in the $150,000 - $250,000 price range but it has been a fantastic year, anyway.

“I have a new agent, Chelsie Mann. She’s done very well this year. It’s been very busy aside from the Pulp Mill,” Snyder said.

Snyder said the bigger issue is the lack of rental housing. He manages 40 properties in town, and owns 16 and said they are all full. There are also four residents in the Blue Willow RV Park, which he recently acquired.

Still, Snyder is thinking positively about Columbia Pulp’s impact on the community.

“The construction guys are renting office space and staying in the RV parks and hotels. It’s been very good for the Best Western Hotel. I expect it to get even better,” Snyder said.

Julie Bickelhaupt at Blue Mountain Realtors echoed Snyder in regard to the shortage of rental inventory.

Bickelhaupt said rental properties are full, with properties rented before they are vacant with rents ranging from $500 to $1,200 per month.

Many of the Columbia Pulp construction workers are renting in the Waitsburg area, which she described as “hot,” and “anyplace we can place them,” she said.

“We have had an uptick in residential and commercial property sales, as well, some because of Columbia Pulp, and some not,” she said.

She agreed with Snyder about the limited inventory in the $150,000 price range but noted that six houses in the $250,000, and up, price range, sold in 2016.

Bickelhaupt said people are moving from areas outside of Dayton because they enjoy the lifestyle.

“They park and walk on Main Street and walk on the river dike to get the flavor. They like the welcoming feeling, and people who smile and greet them,” she said.

Jobs, retirement, and downsizing are driving sales. “It’s all over the place,” she said.

Blue Mountain Realtors has an office in Walla Walla as well as the office in Dayton, and Bickelhaupt said there is some movement from here, to there, and from there, to here.

She expects home sales will increase when the Lyons Ferry Straw Pulp Mill is fully operational, in 2018.