A year after the 2008 financial meltdown, let's take stock of the correction in home prices on the Eastern Shore.
■ The number of homes sold in the 3rd quarter of 2009 was only 6% behind home sales in the 3rd quarter of 2008.
■ Average sales price this past quarter was $243,176 - 19% lower than the average sales price of $298,947 a year ago.
The first statistic shows that the market is stabilizing in one respect.
A year ago, home sales between Spanish Fort and Point Clear fell off a cliff. Last summer 128 homes sold in June and another 135 in July. Then came August 2008 with only 84 sales, a 40 percent drop in the number of homes sold.
That we are only 6% behind the third quarter of 2008 demonstrates the difficult and momentous shift in attitudes toward home prices. Because home sales involve so many people - lenders, insurers, builders and their suppliers, tradesmen, Realtors, home inspectors, appraisers, movers, furnishers, etc. - they are essential to stable economy, despite the falling prices.
Locally, home prices continue to decline. Nationally, the rate of decline slowed for a sixth straight month, according to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city home price index. Looking at these 20 major metro markets, the index noted a better-than-expected 13.3% decline compared to a year ago. David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, said: "These figures continue to support an indication of stabilization in national real estate values."
On the Eastern Shore, 569 price reductions were made on homes in the 3rd quarter; there are 1,209 properties listed.
On to the stats:
Overall, the pace of sales continues to improve, from 157 sales in the 1st quarter, to 207 in the 2nd quarter to 248 in the 3rd quarter, including 29 foreclosures or short sales (pre-foreclosures). The average time it took to sell was 179 days, a figured skewed by the fact that many properties had already gone through a previous listing.
Fairhope/Point Clear: 78 homes sold, compared with 98 a year ago this time and 70 during the 2nd quarter 2009. Average sales price was $300,699, down from $359,262 a year ago and but up from $284,033 in the 2nd quarter. (The sales of three homes over $1.7 million helped boost this quarter's average.) Average time it took to sell: 202 days. There are 562 houses on the market here.
Daphne/Montrose: 107 homes sold compared with 105 sales a year ago, and up from 73 sales the 2nd quarter. Average price was $231,746, down from $289,832 a year ago and $243,600 in the 2nd quarter. Average days on market: 167. There are 373 homes for sale.
Lake Forest: 28 homes sold, exactly the same as a year ago and up slightly from the 25 that sold in the 2nd quarter. Average sales price was $150,107, compared to $153,965 a year ago and $145,680 in the 2nd quarter. Average days on market: 137. There are 134 homes for sale here.
Spanish Fort: 36 homes sold, compared with 34 a year ago and 39 in the 2nd quarter. Average price was $224,392 vs. $272,853 a year ago and $255,977 in the 2nd quarter. Market time averaged 178 days. There are 140 homes for sale.
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