South Side Home Prices Slip Over Past Year

While home prices across Spokane County increased modestly over the past year, buyers are getting more concessions from sellers on the South Side, sales people said.

The Spokane Association of Realtors reported the value of homes across the county rose about 2 percent last month, compared with October 1995.

On the South Side, a comparison of October 1995 with October 1996 shows a decline in the average price of the homes sold.

Real estate agents said homes in the $85,000 to $120,000 range are selling better now, and that plays into the averages.

In October 1995, there were 114 homes sold on the South Side with a total value of $14.5 million. In October 1996, 119 homes sold and were worth $14.2 million.

Average value of South Side homes sold in October 1995 was $127,200. In October 1996 the average value was $119,300.

Greg Benner, sales manager at Tomlinson Black South, said the market has improved for buyers, who are more likely to ask for concessions from sellers.

The difference between asking price and selling price averages about a 2 to 3 percent discount, he said.

Concessions could be a reduced price, improvements to the home or a reduction in the costs of the sale, he said.

Don Walker, a spokesman for the real estate association, said, “The market is real steady.”

Countywide the number of homes sold so far this year is about the same as in 1995, and the average price is up 2 to 3 percent per home, he said.

The average time on the market has increased slightly, from 73 days to 76 days.

On the South Side, the biggest change in sales activity in October occurred in southwest sections of the city.

In October 1995, 30 homes sold in the southwest section of the city. These were worth $4.3 million, for an average price of $144,500.

Last month, the same area had 36 homes sold for a value of $4.2 million, or an average of $118,200.

Average prices increased in other sections of the South Side.

In the southeast section of the city, the average price of the 64 sales was $101,200 in October 1995, compared with 52 sales last month at an average price of $114,200.

Outside the city in southeast Spokane, there were 20 sales last month at an average price of $196,200, compared with October 1995, when there were 18 sales at an average price of $189,500.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: South side home sales