Home Sales In November Off 10%

Valley home sales cooled 10 percent last month compared to November of last year, when an ice storm put a freeze on the residential real estate market.

Total volume for the Valley was also down in November. Sales totaled $11.8 million last month compared to $14.2 million one year earlier.

However, real estate analysts say that’s just a dip in the road.

Bob Krafft of Windemere Real Estate said his office has actually seen an increase in sales in November and so far this month. He speculated that people are buying because they want to take advantage of low interest rates.

“It’s also a result of actual devaluation of prices because there are so many (homes) on the market,” he said.

Overall, the Spokane housing market was up 13 percent compared to last November. Northwest Spokane led in the number of homes sold with 119. A total of 99 homes sold in the Valley.

The Valley led the Spokane market with in the number of new homes sold, with a total of 22.

The average price for a Valley home last month was $120,007, down from $129,284 in November of 1996. The Valley’s average home price was second in Spokane only to the South Hill’s average of $126,068.

Valley homes priced between $90,000 and $99,000 sold the fastest last month, sitting on the market an average of just 57 days before selling. Homes priced at more than $160,000 sat the longest, selling after an average of 129 days on the market.

The most expensive home sold in the Valley last month went for $265,000. The two-story, Tudor-style home in the Ponderosa neighborhood sits on one acre and has a view of the Valley, said listing agent Jerry Klein of Tomlinson Black Realty.

, DataTimes