Sales, prices fall in local housing market
Every St. Louis-area county saw sales of existing houses fall in February, compared to the same month in 2007. And everywhere except Franklin County, median prices were lower than they were in February 2007.
The numbers mirrored monthly national data released Monday by the National Association of Realtors. The median house price nationally last month was $195,900, down 8 percent from a year earlier, when the price was $213,500. Sales of existing single-family houses, condominiums, town houses and co-ops dropped 24 percent from the same time in 2007 to 5.03 million units.
The St. Louis region has not had the boom or busts experienced in other U.S. housing markets, but local data continue to indicate that the area is feeling the pinch.
For example, the city of St. Louis had a 30 percent slump in median price over the last year, the biggest drop among communities in the region. Prices fell to a median of $84,500, from $120,500. Sales for the city took a 6 percent dip, to 254 units.
But John Williams, president of the Creve Coeur-based St. Louis Association of Realtors, dismissed the double-digit decline, saying it’s "not an accurate comparison."
"I would not read anything into that," he said. "To get a really good comparison, you have to take a full year" and compare it to the previous year.
St. Louis County’s numbers fared a little better. The median price last month was $135,000, down 4 percent from the same time a year ago, and sales fell 19 percent, to 797 houses.
On the positive side, sales grew in St. Louis County 7 percent from January to February.
In Madison County, February sales slipped 13 percent from a year ago cashadvance.com. The median price was $97,600, down 20 percent from $122,750.
Only one area bucked the downward median price trend: Franklin County. Although sales were fewer compared to February 2007, prices rose 7 percent to $140,000. Both prices and sales increased from January to February in Franklin County.
The national housing market saw a similar month-over-month improvement. House sales rose nearly 3 percent from 4.89 million units in January. In another encouraging sign, the inventory also fell to a 9.6-month supply in February from 10.2 months in January.
"We’re not expecting a notable gain in existing-home sales until the second half of this year, but the improvement (from January to February) is another sign that the market is stabilizing," Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said in a statement.
Local numbers also show increased sales and decreased median prices from January to February, but these numbers are not seasonally adjusted, which means they don’t account for the typical sales declines around the holiday season.
"In any given year, January is normally always going to be a slower month than February," said Mike Travaglini, vice president and branch manager of the south St. Louis County office of Coldwell Banker Gundaker.
Still, Travaglini and other local real estate professionals emphasized the rising month-over-month sales, saying it was a sign that sellers are lowering prices and buyers are taking the bait.
"There is pent-up demand. Interest rates appear to have stabilized," said Albert Suguitan, president and chief executive of Glen Carbon-based Greater Gateway Association of Realtors, specifically talking about Madison County numbers. "People are now making a decision (that) it’s time to get off the sidelines and come into the game."
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