The July figures are in from the Lancaster County Association of Realtors(R) - LCAR - and once again the same dichotomy is in evidence: slower sales, but record prices. July showed a decline of 2.4% from the 552 home sales in July of 2006, to 539 homes sold in the county last month.
Yet the average sale price was a record $205,525, a 7.1% increase from July a year ago. Measured another way, prices for the first seven months of 2007 are up 4.6% from the first seven months of 2006.
The number of new residential listings in July were unchanged from July 2006, at 808. This is actually a sign of resilience, as in a declining market the number of unsold listings would be likely to increase. LCAR President Rich Heslin was quoted as saying that national projections "show that the housing market is improving and will likely stabilize in the coming months."
In mortgage news, the national average 30-year fixed interest rate was 6.68%, only slightly up from the 6.63% of a year ago. The 15-year rate was 6.32%, up from 6.27% a year ago. The one-year adjustable rates averaged 5.59%. Locally, 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.3%, while 15-year rates averaged 5.95%.
It should be noted that the troubles in the "sub-prime" mortgage sector only count for about 10% of all mortgages. Even though about 10% of these riskier mortgages are in default, those foreclosures still total only about 1% of all mortgages.
While these "alternative" mortgages (designed for those with lower credit scores or "stated incomes" which are not documented) are going to be harder and more expensive to get, the problem should not be overstated.
The liquidity for conventional mortgages is still good. Borrowers with good credit and documented income can still get excellent mortgage rates!
If you would like no-obligation information on how an Accredited Buyers Agent can help you save money and reduce your risk, call (717) 951-5552 or email brian@findlancasterhomes.com .
©BrianSchulman2008
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Brian Schulman offers expert real estate representation for buyers and sellers of homes in Lancaster County, PA. To learn more, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
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Brian Schulman offers expert real estate representation for buyers and sellers of homes in Lancaster County, PA. To learn more, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
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Brian - I have the same situation in my market place, sale is down but the average price is higher. With high inventory and longer days on the market I do think more price reduction will be necessary.
I like the point you made about the foreclosure accounting for only 1% of all mortgages, yet the media certainly make things so much worst.
Jennifer, I'm seeing a lot of price reductions, too, Maybe some of them should have been priced more ccompetitively in the first place...
I guess bad news sells newspapers, but the media hype everything - no wonder people think the media is biased. I'm trying to put some perspective on the situation.