Chester County Real Estate Market Update
County home prices steady in Oct.
Median price remained at $290,000 from October 2007 to October 2008, but sales are down 21% from last year
Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:07 AM EST
By SARAH E. MORAN, Staff Writer
For the first time since June, the median price of existing homes sold in Chester County last month did not decrease when compared with results from the year-ago month.
The median price remained steady, October 2007 to October 2008, at $290,000. The median means that half of all homes sold for more and half sold for less than that amount.
During October, 337 existing homes changed hands in the county, down 21.4 percent from October 2007 and 33.1 percent from October 2006, when 504 existing homes changed hands, according to the Prudential Fox & Roach HomeExpert Market Report, a monthly report on existing home sales in the five-county Philadelphia region.
"Year over year, there’s a huge downturn in the number of homes sold, and yet median prices haven’t taken a big hit, especially when comparing the Philadelphia area to other regions where median prices have dropped significantly," said Steve Storti, Prudential Fox senior marketing vice president.
"Prices in our area were never overwhelmingly inflated, so in 2006, 2007 and 2008 we haven’t seen the drop that California, Arizona, Florida and other areas of the country have experienced," he continued.
Average days on the market in Chester County increased 18 percent in October, to 79, when comparing last month to the year-ago period. There’s a 15-month supply of homes available right now, up from 11 months in October 2007 and seven months in October 2006.
Lee Ann Embrey is experiencing the market up close and personal.
An agent with the West Whiteland office of Coldwell Banker, she said that, up until a month ago, Chester County seemed to be bucking the national housing downturn. But now, "people are frozen in place. With the stock market tumble and other economic upheaval, potential buyers are really sitting on the sidelines," said Embrey, who has three listings and is working with five different sets of buyers.
Bright spots are existing homes in West Goshen and West Whiteland, now selling between $250,000 and $350,000, she added.
First-time lookers are out in force as Coldwell Banker and other realty firms tout a tax credit of as much as $7,500 for first-time home buyers who purchase between April 9, 2008, and June 30, 2009.
Among Chester County’s 73 municipalities — 57 townships, 15 boroughs and one city — more existing homes sold in Tredyffrin than in any other municipality during October (20), followed by Caln with 19 and Phoenixville and West Whiteland at 16 each. Home sales increased 63 percent in Tredyffrin, year-over-year, but declined 5 percent in Caln, 24 percent in Phoenixville and 20 percent in West Whiteland.
Web traffic at Prudential Fox is also down, Storti said. During a normal month, 350,000 people will visit the company’s Internet site but that dropped below 300,000 last month.
Storti said he is hopeful that the regional real estate market will reawaken after the first of the year. "Pent-up demand and more optimism with a new government in place should help people feel better," he said. "We’re in a bit of a holding pattern right now."
Prudential Fox gets its data from the Multiple Listing Service and counts all home sales listed with a realty agent or broker. Excluded are for-sale-by-owner and sheriff’s sales.
The highest number of closings, predictably, are usually in June, July and August, prior to the start of another school year. Typically, the slowest months for closings are in December and January.
To contact staff writer Sarah E. Moran, send an e-mail to .
Written by Chadd Martin on November 13, 2008 at 8:02 am
Filed under: General Business News
Comments
There are no comments on this article yet.
Submit a Comment
All data and information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. TMG Homes makes no representations or warranties as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, currentness, or validity of any information on this blog and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.