Sales Statistics collected by the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service (SOMLS) and reported by the Rogue Valley Association of REALTORS® (RVAR) show Jackson County Existing Home Sales increased by a brisk of 30.6% in the most recent reporting period when compared to the same period in 2008. The report covers the ninety day period ending on April 30, 2009. Sales in April alone increased by 35.8% from the previous year.
Said Steve Blanton Chief Executive Officer of RVAR/SOMLS, “This report exceeds our most wildly optimistic expectations, and marks the second straight month that we have seen a double digit increase in sales numbers for existing homes .” “We have seen supply falling for several months”, he continued, “but this is the first sustained increase in demand we have seen in this market cycle”.
Blanton attributed the dramatic increase to several factors “Word has gotten out that prices have fallen, and that interest rates are low. The free market works, and on top of that there is an $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. Plus there is still plenty of inventory which means lots of options for buyers right now. “
Another sign that the market may be returning to some level of normalcy: median sales price for Jackson County was almost unchanged from the last report. The current median is $194,450. Last month’s median was $195,000. “All in all this is very good news”, concluded Blanton.
See http://www.jacstats.com for current statistics.
