OKC home sales fall 37 pct from January 2008

[mecarr]

Wow..
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OKC home sales fall 37 pct from January 2008
by Kelley Chambers
February 17, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY – 2008 was not a banner year for home sales in Oklahoma City and 2009 is looking bleak based on January numbers. On Monday the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors reported a 37-percent decline in homes closed in January compared to January 2008 numbers.

For January of this year, 741 homes closed and in January 2008, 1,170 homes closed.

The number also was a decline from the previous month, when there were 971 home closings. The year’s high in 2008 was in May with 1,685.

The average price of a home was about $10,000 less than in the previous January.

The number of listings remained about the same, with 8,649 in January compared to 8,783 in January of last year.

One ray of hope was a report from foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac that showed January foreclosures in Oklahoma fell 23.4 percent from January 2008, putting Oklahoma 31st in the nation with a rate of one foreclosure per 1,668 homes. The national average is one foreclosure per 466 homes. The state’s January foreclosures were down more than 21 percent from December.

Despite weak numbers in the first month of the year, Mike Cassidy, owner/broker of Paradigm Advantage, said January started shaping up as a good month for him.

“In January the phone started ringing and I started selling houses,” he said. “Before Jan. 1 the phones weren’t ringing.”

Cassidy said the January numbers reflect a weak fourth quarter, but he expects February and March numbers to reflect the healthy market starting in January, despite a 23-percent decrease in units sold in 2008.

After being in the business 35 years, Cassidy said he has seen many ups and downs and is sure things will improve.

“It will get better,” he said.

Copyright © 2009 The Journal Record All Rights Reserved
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[TaoMaas]

The average price of a home was about $10,000 less than in the previous January.

Apparently, the average price was down when you compare month-to-month, but the Oklahoman has an article today that says the average home price rose by a little over $700 over the course of 2008.

[khook]

dah.... we're in a recession.... number of sales go down. I think it is very positive that the number of homes for sale year over year is the same number. That means we haven't had an increase in the number of homes needing to be sold - which would tend to bring the price of housing down. I'd say we have a very stable market considering the overall national market.

[mcgrawsdad]

Home market in OKC is still very stable and prices are increasing, not decreasing. It is MUCH, MUCH more difficult to get financing, and that is the main reason less homes are selling. Less qualified buyers.

[RealtorJoe]

Our market has slowed quite a bit, but with the stimulus plan and interest rates so lowm we are seeing a lot of buyer activity. I expect another pretty flat year, but it is a really great time to buy. I wish I would have gotten $8000 free when I bought my first home.

[grantgeneral78]

Yes if buyers were smart they would take advantage of this now before it disappears. That is just instant equity, like money in the bank!

[bluedogok]

Financing options are what is driving it down, the same thing has happened here in Austin. Many people still have 2005 home dreams and are finding out they can't finance that much house now as they could back then, not without a very large (compared to then) down payment.

Austin Business Journal - January home sales down 36% in Austin
Thursday, February 19, 2009, 10:03am CST | Modified: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 10:06am

Single-family home sales and median home prices in the metro area both fell in January, compared with the same month last year, according to a report from the Austin Board of Realtors.

In January, 834 single family homes sold, a 36 percent decrease from January 2008. Median home prices for the month were $175,500, down 6 percent from the same period last year, and roughly equivalent to the median price in January 2007, which was $175,000.

The number of active single-family home listings on the market for the month, 8,738, is unchanged from January 2008, the report said. The dollar value of single-family properties sold in January totaled approximately $192 million.

“Right now, we’re our own worst enemy,” said ABoR Chairman Jay Gohil. “Uncertainty about the national economy and a looming government stimulus package have consumers taking a wait-and-see attitude. However, we expect that our strong local economy and stable real estate prices will put us back on the upside quickly when consumer confidence rebounds.”