Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

Related Photos

  • Sarah Brower

    house for sale
May 28, 2009

Real estate agents encouraged by sales data

BY BILL O'BRIEN

TRAVERSE CITY -- Area home sales -- and sale prices -- are starting to perk up, and could signal a long-awaited turn in the local real estate market.

Home sales remained steady in the Grand Traverse area in April and increased slightly across the country, welcome news to an industry struggling through tough economic times and a huge backlog of available homes.

"The people in the field are telling me they're very busy," said Kim Pontius, executive vice president of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors. "But they're working very hard. Deals aren't coming easy."

Home sales in the 5-county Grand Traverse area totaled 126 residential units in April, the same number recorded in March. Sale prices were up last month, according to sales data from the TAAR, with the average home price for April at $161,750. That's up 9.5 percent from March. The median or midpoint home sale price in April was $132,500, up more than 13 percent from March.

Unchanged local sales numbers in April nonetheless encouraged Pontius, who said home sales were up 40 percent from February to March. Much of the sales activity is in "workforce" housing, he said, where prices range from less than $100,000 up to $150,000.

Pontius said the federal government's $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers continues to spur home sales activity in that price range, as do historically low interest rates on new mortgages.

"Those things are all coming into play," he said.

Other financial incentives are enticing new home buyers into the market. Julie Courtade, a mortgage loan officer with Bank of America in Traverse City, said her company has seen a surge in home buyers through initiatives like the federal Rural Development program. Purchasers can get a 30-year fixed mortgage rate at less than 5 percent with no money down, and home sellers can pay the closing costs. A two percent fee also eliminates the requirement for private mortgage insurance, she said.

"I have seen a lot of purchase activity," Courtade said. Loan applications started picking up in February and March, she said, leveled off in April but surged again this month.

"In May, we've been very, very busy," she said. "It's an amazing time for buyers out there."

Across the country, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million in March. The results slightly beat economists' forecasts.

Pontius said real estate agents are keeping a close eye on jobless numbers and consumer confidence ratings, as worsening numbers in either category could cut short any housing recovery.

"Those are the two things that could tip the scale back to some of the uglier days we've had," he said.

Home sales in 5-county area

 April 20092009 year-to-date totals
Residential units sold:126463
Average sale price:$161,750$154,496
Median sale price:$132,500$110,000

Source: Traverse Area Association of Realtors

Text Only