Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — Housing prices and sales in Knox County rose slightly during the month of February, but fell below the figures posted in February 2007, according to state and local housing reports released this week.

In February, 28 homes were sold at an average sale price of $109,670, according to the Knox County Board of Realtors. In January, the number of units sold was 28, at an average sale price of $94,071. For February 2007, the corresponding figures were 37 units sold at an average price of $112,661.

In January and February combined, 59 homes were sold in the county, compared to 69 during the first two months of 2007, according to an Ohio Association of Realtors report. The average sale price for this two-month period in 2008 was $103,061, a 21.6 decline compared to the average sale price of $131,416 during the same period in 2007.

Statewide, sales of new and existing homes during the first two months of 2008 add up to 14,344, 13 percent behind the 16,486 sales posted during the same period a year ago. Sales in February reached 7,815, an increase from the January sales mark of 6,529, but a 9.6 percent decrease from the 8,647 sales posted during February 2007. The average sale price for February reached $132,556, a 6.5 percent decrease from the $141,716 posted during the period a year ago.

“Throughout the state, potential home buyers are actively exploring their options and are doing so in a deliberate manner,” said OAR President Brad Knapp. “As a result, the sense of urgency that dominated the marketplace when we were setting sales record after sales record over the past five years has dissipated. As such, buyers have more leverage and are using it to their advantage to find a home that fully meets their expectations before entering a purchase contract.”

Knapp said would-be buyers are enjoying an ample supply of inventory in all price categories; various markets are reporting fewer new home listings, which he said is good news for the state’s housing market.

“Buyers will find perfect conditions as we enter the traditional home buying season to make their dream of home ownership possible — with historically low interest rates, solid inventory and an understanding that ownership is a sound, long-term investment,” he said.