October Numbers And Prices On Valley Home Sales Are Up

Homes in the Spokane Valley sold faster and for a higher average price in October than during the same month last year.

Last month, 106 Valley homes sold after an average of 75 days on the market. In October of last year, it took an average of 82 days to sell 93 homes.

The average price of a Valley home sold last month was $129,123, up from $118,098 in October of 1996.

The Valley last month closely trailed the South Hill, where 108 homes traded hands at an average price of $131,946. The South Hill had the high average home sale price in the Spokane market last month.

Total volume for the Valley was $13.6 million, up $2.7 million from October 1996.

“I think the numbers reflect a real healthy market,” said Tony Higley of Certified Appraisal.

Year-to-date home sales are higher in the Valley this year than last. So far in 1997, a total of 1,054 homes have sold, compared to 1,018 in the first 10 months of 1996.

“I think there’s an upswing now, and it’s starting to climb back up,” said Gayle Earling, sales manager for Windemere/The Tupper Group.

In the Valley, most homes sold were in the lower- to mid-price range. Of the 108 homes sold, 68 cost between $70,000 and $159,000.

Average prices over the past few months have hovered around $125,000.

That’s perhaps a sign that sellers are starting to price homes more realistically, real estate agents said.

“They’re not trying to shoot for the moon,” Earling said.

The lower- to mid-priced ranges are more affordable to first-time home buyers, she added.

The most expensive home sold in the Valley last month brought a price of $670,000.

The 5,600-square foot custom-built home sits next to MeadowWood Golf Course’s No. 10 green.

It has four bedrooms, three baths and a hot tub. It sits on three-fourths of an acre lot with a lake in the front and a view of the mountains in back.

“It was a parklike setting,” said Melanie White of ReMax of Spokane, who sold the contemporary-style home.

, DataTimes