Local Housing Market Shows Renewed Vigor

The Spokane housing market strengthened in April, but still lags behind its performance a year ago.

During the month, 393 homes were sold through the Multiple Listing Service of the Spokane Association of Realtors, a 10 percent increase over March. However, that fell far short of the 554 sales in April 1994.

Although the market this spring may not be as hot as last year, real estate officials are confident that the economy is still strong and sales will continue to increase.

“We are very pleased to see the solid pickup of market activity in the area. The market is solid and steady with a good selection of homes for qualified buyers,” said Bev Gates, president of the Realtors association.

An increase in the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage limits for single-family home buyers could help spark a mini-boom in the local housing market, Gates said.

Based in part on the increasing median price of homes here, the FHA bumped up the mortgage limit on single-family home loans by more than 15 percent, from $97,850 to $115,900. The new limit took effect April 27.

“The new FHA mortgage limits will provide more opportunity for buyers to apply for larger loans at lower closing costs,” Gates said. “The new limit is a more realistic number of $115,900. This limit affords the buying public a larger selection of homes.”

The average sale price for singlefamily homes has decreased in the past year. The average price for April was $108,015, down from the April 1994 average of $108,866.

Prices were highest on the South Hill, where 111 single-family homes were sold at an average price of $124,890. The Northeast quadrant of Spokane County had the lowest average price, with 58 homes sold for an average $76,052.