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Twin City home sales down again
By Michelle Koetters
mkoetters@pantagrpah.com
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BLOOMINGTON — As local home sales continued to tumble but prices increased, one industry expert said the real estate market is all about buyer confidence.

Twin City total home sales dropped about 26.4 percent from August to September, according to statistics from the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors. Real estate agents and builders sold a total of 189 homes, including 59 fewer existing homes and nine fewer new homes.

Total annual sales are down almost 10 percent from last year.

“We’ve just got to build that confidence again,” said Lynn Nalewanski, the association’s president-elect. “Consumers believing in the market is what’s going to make this change. … The buyers have to believe in the market.”

Consumers should find confidence in home sale prices this year, Nalewanski said.

The average price for a home increased from $166,176 in August to $181,060 in September. For the year, home prices have increased 2.9 percent, to $171,818, from the same time period in 2006. The average price for new construction this year has increased 3.6 percent to $277,680, while the average price for existing homes has increased 5.5 percent, to $154,134.

The price increase shows a home is still a good long-term investment, Nalewanski said. With the higher prices, buyers should feel confident that the real estate market is not tumbling, and sellers should have confidence that it’s OK to sell now, she said.

Nationwide, existing home prices are expected to decrease 1.3 percent to a median of $219,000 this year before increasing the same amount to $221,800 in 2008, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median new home price is expected to drop 2.1 percent to $241,400 this year and then increase 1 percent to $243,900 next year.

While total home sales will be lower in 2007, one out of 16 American households will buy a home this year, and existing home sales are expected to be the fifth-highest on record, the national group reports.

The month-to-month drop in local home sales also is not unusual for this time of year, leading into the slower home buying season, Nalewanski said. Home sales dropped 26.7 percent from August 2006 to September 2006.

“The last quarter typically is a quiet quarter,” she said.

Agents will have to wait and see what happens the rest of this year, but Nalewanski hopes to see more activity as she encourages people to look at the local versus the national real estate picture.

Locally, it’s especially a great time for renters and first-time homebuyers to enter the housing market, Nalewanski said. Sellers have to understand it could take two days or 120 days to sell a home, but if they price their homes well and get them ready for a buyer, they will sell, she said.

“You just have to be patient and realize it only takes one buyer,” Nalewanski said.

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Reader comments on this story - 8 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

couldn't do it without my realtor wrote on Oct 24, 2007 9:03 PM:

" i also tried to sell my home for sale by owner for several months.......after stopping evertying to rush home to get it ready and show it, and not ever getting any feedback from the viewers....i decided to go with a realtor....they gave me some great advice on little changes to make, gave me some comps to help acurately price....and we sold it in 5 days for almost asking price. i'd never think of doing it by myself again! "

FYI wrote on Oct 24, 2007 7:37 PM:

" I don't understand why prices are going up at the same time as inventory. The area prices are at least 10-20% above value, with some areas 100% overvalued, considering the poor quality of construction & materials. A full 50% of my repair business this year came from homes under 5 years old!!!! "

By Owner wrote on Oct 24, 2007 3:25 PM:

" I'm glad your by owner situation worked out. Mine was a disaster. Two buyers backed out on me at the last second and I got tired of showing it at all times of the day to unqualified people. I finally sold with a realtor. "

By Owner wrote on Oct 24, 2007 8:22 AM:

" This isnt the whole picture. Realtor sales may be down, but what about sales by owner? I personally just bought and sold a house in Sep by owner. And guess what? It went 100% smooth. If more people would realize they do not need a realtor, prices would come down and we could all save thousands on useless commissions. "

? wrote on Oct 24, 2007 6:32 AM:

" when will the banks stop loaning builders the money to build houses if they are not selling. who goes broke first, the builder or the bank? "

Love It wrote on Oct 24, 2007 5:07 AM:

" When I see a B/N home sales headline, I always look forward to the positive spin the B/N association pres throws at us! "

keep building wrote on Oct 23, 2007 7:44 PM:

" if they dont have the people to fill the homes then prices will go down and maybe I can afford one "

I don't wrote on Oct 23, 2007 6:24 PM:

" know how they can keep building in the area. As far as I know employers aren't hiring like they used to and if anything they are cutting back. I thinks it's the mentallity that if I the builder doesn't build someone else will so I had better build, build, build. Have you ever driven around the area and seen all of the empty office and retail areas yet they continue to build. Oh well realtors the party is nearly over, bankruptcies are up and no jobs. "
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