RISMEDIA,
The median prices of homes in
Industry experts say sales numbers are approaching 2004 levels. That year is considered typical for sales of homes in the Valley. 2005 and the first half of 2006 represented a bubble, with fast-rising prices and a home-building boom.
According to the MLS, 1,028 Valley homes sold in May, off 7% from the 1,103 transactions in 2004.
Buyers had many more homes to choose from than usual: 7,470 homes, or 76% more than in May 2004.
“It’s not a bad market out there,” said Marc Lebowitz, executive officer of the Ada County Association of Realtors. “It’s just a different market. And the trend is the same all over the country.”
Existing homes in
Shaun Tracy, an associate broker with Re/Max Capital City, attributes rising prices to the fact that more than half of the homes sold last month were fewer than 10 years old. They typically carry a higher price tag than similar homes 20 years old, he said.
But he cautioned that the market is not generating any momentum at a time of the year when sales have historically risen.
“The market is tepid right now,”
“People will make every excuse in the world to keep from dropping their price,” he said. “That’s why momentum is flat.”
Lebowitz said May was a lean period for his membership. He said that with more than 4,000 members, having 720 closings in
But he said the market is not falling as much as returning to stability after two years of “gross instability” that produced the excess inventory now weighing down the market.
Copyright ? 2007, The
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