Lee County is Very Strong
By Elizabeth Dougherty
National Market - Down 11%
Total existing home sales in the United States
are down approximately 11 percent from the
same time last year. Nationally, home sales in
April 2006 were 6.71 million houses versus
5.99 million in April 2007, according to Walter
Molony of the National Association of Realtors
(www.realtor.org). Additionally, April 2007
was down 2.6 percent from the month before,
March 2007.
While there many reasons given for the
downtrend by the NAR, the main one seemed
to be the problem in the sub-prime mortgage
industry.
In the March 30, 2007 issue of HomeSeeker,
we discussed the sub-prime market problem
in some detail (you can view it online at
www.eahomeseeker.com) and said that there
would be, "some minor national turbulence,
but here in Lee County it is still clear sailing."
Lee County Market - Very Steady
This certainly seems to be the case. In a review
of listed homes here in Lee County, there is
not really a dip in the market at all. Looking at
last week’s BY THE NUMBERS in HomeSeeker
(supplied courtesy of the Lee County
Association of Realtors) 581 listed homes had
been sold by May 23, 2006 versus 576 by
May 23, 2007. This is within five houses of the
same number and statistically less than a 1
percent decrease during the time period when
the national market experienced a slump of 11
percent.
Lee County Selling Price Remains Strong
Over the past year, the national median price
for housing did fairly well and only dropped
0.8 percent from $222,600 in April of 2006
to $220,900 for April of 2007, according to
the NAR. Again, from the number last week,
Lee County did not drop at all in average
pricing. Indeed, the average price of a house
sold in Lee County went UP from $191,045 to
$203,779.
This is an increase in the average selling price
of a home in Lee County of about 7 percent
– while the national average fell about 1
percent.
These numbers show what most of us who live
in Lee County already know - just because the
rest of the nation hits a bump in the economic
road, that bump is mild to non existent once it
gets here.
Lee County Strong – even compared to
the South
We all know that housing markets are different
in different parts of the nation. California, New
York, Texas and some large cities have had
some serious real estate issues over this past
year. The South was not as affected.
But existing home sales in the South were
down 8.8 percent from April 2006 to April
2007, according to the NAR. Again, Lee
County was steady at less than a 1 percent
decline in the sale of listed houses from a year
ago.
Home prices in the South were only down
about 0.3 percent – but Lee County prices
actually rose about 7 percent.
Future
While no one can accurately predict the future,
the past has taught us a great deal. In a year
of turmoil in the mortgage industry, the subprime
market specifically, the national housing
market was greatly impacted while the housing
market here in Lee county was not.
As the mortgage industry adjusts there are
some things to realize about the market here
in Lee County. Prices have remained very
strong. With a number of great mortgage
programs still available, now seems a good
time to buy while rates are still low.
Elizabeth Dougherty, a resident of
Auburn, is a former Real Estate Broker
and Mortage Broker. She can be
reached at EADougherty1@aol.com.
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