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Local home prices dip 6.1 percent in March (Posted Date :Saturday, April 12, 2008) |
Foreclosure-related sales account for 71 percent of homes sold; prices retreat to 2004 levels
Prices of existing homes in the Victor Valley dropped 6.1 percent last month, and most of the homes sold were foreclosures, according to a new report.
Seventy - one percent of the homes that closed escrow in March were bank-owned, according to Victor Valley Multiple Listing Service data compiled by Larry Trombley of Century 21 Rose Realty.
Since March of 2007, existing home prices have slipped 37.8 percent and are on a par with home prices in 2004.
The average High Desert home sold for $211,180, or $107 per square foot.
For the month, one in 16 homes on the market sold. That equates to 6.2 percent of homes for sale.
Lower home prices spurred sales for the month. March home sales jumped 20.7 percent compared to February. The rise in local home sales is surpassing the statewide trend.
The California Association of Realtors reported that home sales in February dropped 28.5 percent.
Regional economist John Husing anticipates the nation and the Inland Empire will slip into a recession in 2008 — a move that will impact the housing market.
“Looking ahead, prices will likely fall throughout 2008 as subprime mortgages adjust, some homeowners and speculators default on mortgages and most transactions are distressed sales,” wrote Husing in the Inland Empire Quarterly Economic Report.
Home sales won’t recover, he wrote, until potential buyers perceive that homes are “reasonably” priced.
Lagging home sales are partly due to tighter lending standards and the credit crunch.
“The Federal Reserve Bank’s recent action to reduce the federal funds rate will have little near-term direct effect on the housing market," said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist of the California Association of Realtors. "However, Fed rate cuts should result in more favorable real estate finance rates as we move through the year."
FROM STAFF REPORTS
By : Daily Press |
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