SPRINGFIELD (October 20, 2011) Unit home sales were up for single-family homes in the Capital Area while the median home sale price was also up during September 2011, according to the Capital Area Association of REALTORS (CAAR).

For the month of September 2011, the median home sale price (for all single-family homes and condominiums) was $113,500, an increase of 4.1 percent from the September 2010 price of $109,000. Year-to-date through September 2011 the median home sale price was $110,400, up slightly over the $110,000 median sale price from the same time-period in 2010.

There were a total of 294 homes sold in September 2011 as compared to 278 homes sold in September 2010, reflecting a 4.3 percent increase. Year-to-date home sales through September of 2011 totaled 2,472, reflecting a 7.6 percent decrease from the 2,674 sales in September of 2010.

Not only was the September median home sale price up over last September but it was the highest recorded median price for any September, said REALTOR Todd Musso, GRI, SFR president of the Capital Area Association of REALTORS. “This was the fourth such month this year where the median sale price was a record high for that month. While these are certainly good indicators we want to caution consumers not to read too much into the statistical price trends as these merely signal the overall direction of our market and do not necessarily mean that all homes have gone up in value as each property is unique,” said Musso.

“We continue to be very pleased with the underlying fundamentals of our local housing market. We enjoy very affordable housing stock, our price trends are encouraging with slow modest consistent growth, our inventory is close to being a balanced market and we are enjoying the lowest mortgage rates in our lifetime,” said Musso.

Although local market fundamentals are encouraging, according to Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS chief economist, the market is underperforming given a pent-up demand in household formation. In particular, Yun says “we continue to experience a pattern in which financially qualified home buyers, willing to stay well within their means, are being denied credit – a factor in elevated levels of contract failures,” he said.

“We are entering into a critical time of the year for sellers who need to hit the market running. The most critical piece to the puzzle is proper pricing and that is where the knowledge and experience of a REALTOR can help. Not only can REALTORS help sellers price their home properly but can also counsel sellers on improvements that will help to make their home more saleable,” said Musso.

The number of homes listed for sale in the Capital area at the end of September
2011 was 1,703, reflecting a 4.2 percent decline from the 1,774 listings at the end of September 2010. As of October 18th the number of listings stood at 1,767. Today, we have a 6.5 month supply of inventory based on the average monthly sales rate which is down slightly from the September 2011 inventory level.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 4.1 percent in September 2011, down slightly from 4.4 percent during the same period in 2010.

The Capital Area Association of REALTORS® is the Voice for Real Estate in the Capital Area representing more than 700 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. The Capital Area’s Resource for Real Estate Information can be found at www.SeeHouses.com.

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