Housing Surplus Drives Home Prices Down

Average home sale prices in the Valley were less in October and houses stayed on the market about a week longer, when compared to the same month last year.

Last month, it took an average of 82 days to sell 93 Valley homes. In October of 1995, 130 homes sold after being on the market an average of 71 days.

Average selling price last month was $118,098, down from last October’s average of $123,319.

“We’re feeling the effects of slower sales that began last year,” said Bob Krafft of Windermere Real Estate. “While we’ve maintained the same pace as last year, those numbers are down from 1994.”

A surplus of homes on the market forces sellers to reduce their prices, Krafft said. In October, there were 762 Valley homes on the market. Last October, there were 677 Valley homes on the market.

“Buyers have more to choose from and can be picky,” he said. “I think it’s a mild correction. Certainly nothing major.”

Another factor in the slower pace of selling homes is the overbuilding of apartments in the area, Krafft said. Would-be home-buyers are reluctant to enter the market because they’re comfortable living with the amenities offered in apartments and the one-year lease agreements, he said.

“Sometimes it’s hard to convince them to consider buying a house,” he said. “But it’s really a better thing for them because they’re not building any equity by renting an apartment.”

Valley sales in October totaled $10.9 million. Twenty-two of the homes sold last month were new. The most expensive home sold in the Valley last month went for $347,000.

Volume for all of Spokane was up $7.9 million from the same time last year. Last month’s average selling price in Spokane was $113,493, compared with $111,240 last October.

Valley homes stayed on the market for varying lengths of time, depending on price:

In the $80,000 to $90,000 range, 10 homes sold in an average of 63 days.

In the $90,000 to $100,000 range, 10 homes sold in 53 days.

In the $100,000 to $120,000 range, 19 homes sold in 68 days.

In the $120,000 to $160,000 range, 24 homes sold in 118 days.

In the $160,000 to $200,000 range, 7 homes sold in 76 days.

South of the freeway, the average selling price was $120,874, and the average time on the market was 84 days.

North of the freeway, the average price was $105,048, and the average time on the market was 79 days.

Only one home sold in the Newman Lake area in October. It was priced at $244,374 and was on the market for 4 days.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Valley home sales