Midwest Home Sales Post 3 Percent Gain

Date: 07/24/09
Source: WRA REALTOR® Newswire Weekly – Agent Edition – 7/31/09

The National Association of REALTORS® recently reported that home sales in the Midwest increased nearly 3 percent during the month of June — the first annual increase since September. Kelly Edmiston, a senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, remarked, “The evidence seems to suggest that we’re coming off the bottom in sales [in the Midwest]. I think the house prices are so affordable relative to where they’ve been in the last few years that people sense we’re at a bottom for home prices so they feel now is the time to jump in, and we’re starting to see some people do that.” The median sales price in the 12-state region dipped 9 percent from year-earlier levels to $157,000, as interested buyers sorted through a sizable backlog of foreclosed houses and sellers became more realistic about the market. All 12 Midwest cities tracked in the Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report showed positive sales movement in each of the past three months. The biggest sales gains came in Detroit and Minneapolis, where substantial decreases in median sales prices have attracted investors and bargain hunters alike. Detroit home resales rose 21 percent from June 2008, while Minneapolis recorded a 19 percent year-over-year rise in sales. In Milwaukee, sales rose nearly 8 percent from a year ago while the median sale price declined 11 percent to $174,000. Sue Derby, an agent with ShoreWest REALTORS® in suburban Waukesha, estimated about 65 percent of her clientele have been first-time buyers looking to take advantage of the federal tax credit. She adds, “I think even sellers are getting encouraged to get their houses spruced up and get them on the market to take advantage of this opportunity.”

*yellow words added, source was original AP article