Despite economy, home sales stable

Sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums rose by 2 percent to 4.99 million units in May, the latest month for which such figures are available the National Association of Realtors reports.

Jackson County real estate brokers such as Steve Silver, Ken Spoor and Cheryl Stuckwish say they're seeing a trend of lower prices and stable if not growing sales in the area.

May was only the second sales increase in the past 10 months, but it was not viewed as a sustained rebound. Many economists contend prices will have to decline more before the housing industry can mount a sustained recovery.

The median price of an existing home sold in May dropped to $208,600, a fall of 6.3 percent from a year ago. That was the fifth biggest year-over-year price decline on records that go back to 1999.

The strength in sales reflected gains in all parts of the country except the South, where sales dropped by 0.5 percent. Sales were up 5.5 percent in the Midwest, 4.6 percent in the Northeast and 2 percent in the West.

The average sale price for Jackson County, year-to-date, is $106,600 compared to $110,000 last year, according to Steve Silver, manager of RE/MAX in Seymour.

"So we aren't down that far," he said. "It's taking about 24 extra days to sell a home."

Cheryl Stuckwish of Coldwell Banker South Central Realty in Seymour said Jackson County is in a stable market.

"If we had to look at year-to-date from 2007 to 2008, we are probably down by 7 percent," she said. "We look at that as a very stable market. Anything under 10 percent is a stable market."

She said the local market is lucky because while it doesn't see large upswings it also doesn't see large downswings. Silver said right now there are 310 single-family homes available in Jackson County.

"There is a lot of inventory and opportunities for people to buy," he said. "Average list price right now is $134,500."

As far as sales, Silver said, year-to-date, "they aren't really that far off."

He said it has taken a little longer to sell a home. Average days on the market is right under 160 days from start to closing.

"Our average sale price is down a little bit, but not as much as what it is in other areas of the country," he said.

Broker and owner of Heritage Real Estate in Seymour, Ken Spoor, agrees the local market has not been hit as hard as what the nation has been, despite slow sales.

"We have an abundance of repossessions in Jackson County," he said. "In the last 30 days things have picked up considerably. The market is beginning to move in houses under $125,000."

Spoor said a lot of that market is buying and flipping repossessed property. The homes of $200,000 and up are relatively slow, however.

"I think that price market is selling more because underwriting is getting tighter with the banks," he said. "People can't afford with other expenses nice homes as what they were buying two to three years ago."

His company has noticed they are getting many phone calls for rental homes. He said that people can't afford to buy. People are renting to save money and clear up some of their debt.
Another reason Silver and other real estate agents believe sales were up in May is because of the time of year.

"The market always picks up because of warmer weather, school being out and families making upgrades," Silver said.

Silver said the national report of increased sales is good news not only nationally but locally.

"We are so affected on a local level by national news and factors outside of our areas of our economy," he said. "You get a lot of negative news about Florida and California that people see that on the news, and that affects people's buying habits here, which is unfortunate because Indiana has had a good economy."

Silver said other positives for the market include new factories bringing jobs to the county, including Indiana Steel and Tube coming to Brownstown.

"We are very lucky in Indiana right now," Stuckwish added. "We have a low unemployment rate, which helps in our area."