Region's home sales dropped in February

The area's decline in sales of existing homes came as such sales nationally were up.

March 24, 2009|By Alan J. Heavens, Inquirer Real Estate Writer

Real estate agent Michelle Zeiter shows a house in Stockton, Calif. Sales rose nationally…

Existing-home sales in the eight-county Philadelphia region continued their decline in February, falling 27.4 percent from a year ago.

This despite an unexpected rise nationwide as buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures.

The regional drop was three percentage points lower than the year-over-year January decline, but sales of existing homes remain about half of what they were before the boom ended here in August 2007, according to Prudential Fox & Roach HomExpert Report, using data from Trend Multiple Listing Service.

Median sale prices fell 7.1 percent year over year, to $195,000 from $210,000 in February 2008. In January, median prices fell 6.5 percent from the first month of 2008, again to $195,000 from $208,500.

"We're seeing more and more homes coming on the market with a smarter listing price than last year, when big 2005 numbers were still floating about in sellers' minds," said Steve Storti, senior vice president of Prudential Fox & Roach. "Homeowners looking to sell this year need to be smart about the initial price. It sets the stage for everything that follows."

Real estate agents are banking on continued Federal Reserve intervention to ease credit and more first-time buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit for home purchase this year, which was approved as part of President Obama's stimulus package in February.

As the spring selling season gets under way, however, there are fewer existing houses on the regional market. In February, the MLS listed 43,572 houses for sale, 8 percent fewer than the 47,393 on the market a year ago.

Days on the market now average about 95, up from 82 a year ago, although many experts say the average is much higher. The highest is in Burlington County, with 120 days on the market, according to HomExpert.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes grew 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 4.72 million last month, from 4.49 million units in January. It was the largest sales jump since July 2003.

Sales had been expected to fall to an annual pace of 4.45 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

The median sales price plunged to $165,400, down 15.5 percent from $195,800 a year earlier. That was the second-largest drop on record.

Prices are down about 28 percent from their peak in July 2006.