Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — Home sales and prices for Knox County were down in January, compared to the same month in 2007.

According to the Knox County Board of Realtors, 25 homes were sold in January 2008, compared to 32 homes sold during last January, a 21.9 percent decline. Sales price for the month was $94,071, compared to $153,103 for January 2007, a 38.6 percent decline. There were 38 homes sold in December at an average price of $123,232.

Statewide sales of new and existing homes during January totaled 6,523, 16.8 percent behind the market’s record-breaking 7,839 sales posted a year ago, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors. The state’s average sale price in January of $128,443 marks an 8.3 percent decrease from the $139,999 avearge price posted a year ago. The total dollar volume reached $838 million, a 23.7 decrease from the $1 billion posted in January 2007.

The Ohio Association of Realtors reports that the state’s housing industry began 2008 much in the same way as in 2007, slow sales activity in January compared to the market set a year ago.

“Buyers are being extremely cautious in their decision-making,” said OAR President Brad Knapp. “From all accounts, buyers throughout Ohio are not feeling compelled to rush into a decision to purchase, as was the case during the past five years of record-breaking sales activity.”

The housing industry in Knox County in 2007 as a whole fared better than the rest of the nation: 569 homes sold in 2007, compared to 663 in 2006. The average price increased from $128,263 to $134,108.

In the state as a whole, sales of new and existing homes totaled $131,120, an 8.6 percent decrease from the 143,415 sales for 2006. The state’s average sale price for 2007 was $149,657, a 2.4 decrease from the $153,268 posted in 2008.

“Current market conditions — with solid inventory in all price categories, extremely favorable interest rates and an understanding that homeownership is a sound, long-term investment — should certainly help escalate activity as we move into 2008,” Knapp said.

Nationally, existing home sales fell 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in January from 4.91 million in December, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $201,100 in January, down 4.6 percent from a year ago when the price was $210,900.

In 2007, sales and sale prices of existing homes fell in the United States. Existing home sales dropped from 6,478,000 in 2006 to 5,652,000 in 2007, a 23.4 percent decline. The average sale price during the same period fell from $221,900 to $219,000, a 4.6 percent decline.

Regionally, existing home sales in the Midwest rose 3.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.2 million in Janaury, but are 20 percent below January 2007. The median price in the Midwest was $154,000, down 4.0 percent from a year ago.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said many potential buyers are waiting. He said subprime loans and other risky mortgage products have virtually disappeared from the marketplace and added that, as increase limits for Federal Housing Administration and conventional loans are implemented, more buyers will have access to lower-interest rate loans in high cost areas, which could lead to steadily higher home sales later in the year.

NAR president Richard Gaylord said the biggest slowdown in home sales last year was in high-cost markets, which were hard-hit by the credit crunch and notabley higher interest rates for jumbo loans.

“Once buyers have greater access to higher loan limits, it will take a few months for increased shopping activity to translate into higher sales,” he said. “We should see some movement of pent-up demand by this summer.”