Property crisis in US: South again sees drops in home sales, prices

[LahoreEstate]

MIAMI: Sales of existing homes fell 16 percent in the South in February, as potential buyers remained cautious amid difficult economic conditions and waited for the stimulus package to take effect, the National Association of Realtors said.

The median sales price of existing homes in the South slid 10 percent from last year to $146,700 as distressed property sales dominated, while most markets wrestled with high inventory and low-ball offers.

On a national, non-seasonally adjusted basis, existing home sales dropped 10 percent from February last year, while the median sales price declined almost 16 percent to $165,400, the Realtors reported Monday. Up to 45 percent of sales nationwide are foreclosures or other distressed property sales, the Realtors group reported. Those properties typically sell for about 20 percent less than non-distressed homes.

In the South region, existing home sales fell in 16 metro areas compared to February 2008, according to The Associated Press-Re/Max Housing Report released Monday. The steepest sales declines came in the Carolinas — Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, NC, and Charleston, SC. But for the third straight month, sales increased on a year-over-year basis in some of the most troubled markets: Washington, DC, and the Florida cities of Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Foreclosure sales are keeping home values down, with all four cities posting significant drops in prices, according to the AP-Re/Max report. In all, median sales prices fell in all but three of 20 metro areas covered by the AP-Re/Max report, though those cities — Jackson, Miss, Tulsa, Okla., and Raleigh-Durham — saw modest increases of two to four percent. The report analyzed all home sales recorded by all real estate agents, regardless of company affiliation, in those metropolitan statistical areas.

In the sprawling South Florida metropolis of Miami, sales jumped 52 percent compared to February 2008, while the median sales price fell nearly 45 percent to $160,000, the AP-Re/Max report showed. In another large southern market, Houston, February sales were down 27 percent year-over-year, while prices slid nearly 8 percent to $139,500, the AP-Re/Max report showed. Foreclosures made up 28 percent of all single family home sales in the Houston area in February, the Houston Association of Realtors reported. ap

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