Spokane Home Sales Lag Levels Reached Last May

The blueprint for 1995 home sales appears clear: This year won’t be as big as 1994.

A total of 438 single-family homes were sold in May throughout Spokane County, down almost 18 percent from May 1994.

This pattern of year-to-year declines has been consistent from February through May. But the downturn from 1994 does not have local real estate officials concerned.

“Compared with many parts of the nation, Spokane’s home sales are in good shape after the normal leveling off of the hot real estate activity the area had experienced in the past few years,” said Bev Gates, president of the Spokane Association of Realtors.

The average price of a home sold in Spokane last month was $109,554, a drop of about 1 percent from the $110,871 average price for May 1994. The year-to-date average home price for the first five months of 1995 is $108,196, a slight increase over 1994, according to Multiple Listing Service data released Tuesday by the Spokane Association of Realtors.

The moderation of prices is good news for Spokane’s affordability index, which had been creeping perilously upward, Gates said.

“Prices have stabilized from the boom period and have lowered on the average from a year ago,” she said. “All the factors that make for a steady and healthy growth in the real estate market are in place in Spokane.”

The average price of 128 homes sold in the Valley was $120,010. On the South Hill, 110 homes sold with an average price of $118,474.

Real estate agents closed sales of 182 homes with an average price of $90,971 in the two North Side MLS regions.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphics: Home Sales