Oak Harbor home prices dip from peak, affordability still strained

Oak Harbor home prices have eased from their 2022 peak, but the drop has not reset the market for local buyers. Zillow puts the city’s typical home value at $535,773 as of April 30, up 1.8% from a year earlier, while Redfin said the median sale price hit $545,280 in March, up 5.3% year over year. Homes were still moving in about 17 days, a pace that suggests buyers are not getting much breathing room.

That is the reality check for anyone hoping a 4.2% slide from the peak will translate into a bargain. A modest price dip can shave some principal off a loan, but Oak Harbor’s market is still priced well above what many households can comfortably carry. The Census Bureau puts the median value of owner-occupied housing units at $461,200, with median monthly owner costs of $2,211 for households with a mortgage. Median gross rent is $1,645, a sign that the cost squeeze reaches renters as well as would-be buyers.

The gap between what homes cost and what families can pay has kept competition alive. Zillow lists only 110 homes in inventory and a median 13 days to pending, while Redfin says homes often attract multiple offers. With Washington state’s average home value at $604,087 and down just 0.6% over the past year, Oak Harbor is not alone in seeing prices cool without becoming cheap.

The local strain is visible in the city’s demographics and housing mix. Oak Harbor’s population was 24,622 in the 2020 Census and 24,163 in the Census Bureau’s 2024 estimate, with 46.7% of housing units owner-occupied. The city also has 3,049 veterans, a reminder that housing demand here is shaped by households tied to military service as well as longtime Island County residents.

County officials are still trying to widen the supply. In 2022, Island County adopted a 1/10th of 1% affordable-housing sales tax after the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1590. By April 2025, the county said the account had reached $4 million. Officials have since looked at spending $999,000 to buy a Coupeville apartment building and $401,000 to repair it, while also weighing a $950,000 Oak Harbor property for a future apartment project.

Oak Harbor’s 2025 Housing Needs Assessment says the Island County Housing Authority lists 288 subsidized housing units for seniors and low-income households. At the same time, county planners say Island County’s population could rise from about 87,000 to nearly 103,000 over 20 years, which means Oak Harbor is likely to absorb much of the growth. For buyers and sellers alike, the message is unchanged: prices have come off the top, but affordability is still under pressure.