MAY 14, 2009 ISSUE
REALTORS® See Market Becoming More Stable
Avery-Watauga Association of REALTORS® representatives (from left to right) Emily Bish, Carole Cox and Patrick Morgan recently visited with N.C. Representative Cullie Tarleton (second from right) in Raleigh to discuss real estate issues. While in Raleigh for “Legislative Day for REALTORS,” the delegation also met with state Senator Steve Goss.
The Avery-Watauga Association of REALTORS® (AWAR) released statistics today for residential units sold through the end of April.
The numbers, when compared to those from the same time last year, show a 33.4 percent decrease in the number of homes sold and an 18.4 percent decrease in the median price of a home sold. The current median sold price is close to $200,000.
“While local sales were down from January through the end of April of this year, when compared with last year, we’re seeing more activity in pending sales,” said Carole Cox, president of AWAR. “As of May 8, there were 131 pending residential sales totaling more than $45 million in Watauga, Avery and surrounding counties. While there is no guarantee that these sales will close, it shows a positive trend with more people willing to commit to residential purchases.”
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association for Realtors, said data through March of this year indicates the real estate market across the nation is becoming stable. “Even though existing home sales fell in March,” said Yun, “the numbers still point toward stabilization.” He explained there are normal month-to-month swings in the data and the decline in home prices was less than in prior months.
National Perspective
According to Yun, existing single-family home sales plus condominium sales across the nation declined 3.0 percent in March. Compared with the same month one year ago, existing home sales were down by 7.1 percent.
“Based on past seasonal patterns, the number of homes on the market may rise through the summer,” said Yun. “The question is whether demand will also be rising to clear off the newly listed homes that hit the marketplace.”
Home prices across the nation fell again – which according to Yun is no surprise, given an oversupply of homes. The national median existing home price in March was $175,200, which is a decline of 12.4 percent from one year ago. In winter, fewer families with children buy a home, and activity is dominated by single-households or from families without school-aged kids. But as spring rolls around, more families with children, who need a larger-sized and hence higher-priced homes, purchase homes.
In the South
The regional breakdown on sales from month-to-month shows sales fell 1.7 percent in March for the South. Prices were lower in all four regions of the nation. Prices were lower by 12.2 percent in the South through March from the previous time period in 2008.
In the High Country
Locally, Cox wonders how many first-time homebuyers are including in the pending sales figure. According to her, the latest national survey of Realtors about their clients showed that 53 percent of homebuyers are first-time buyers. That is much higher than the typical 40 percent.
The local organization of Avery-Watauga Association of REALTORS® is composed of more than 650 members in Watauga and Avery counties and the surrounding area who maintain a marketplace where buyers and sellers can safely transfer property under the guidance of a professional held to standards of excellence. For more info, click to www.awaronline.org.
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