Home Buyers Jumping Back Into Market

Reports of a prolonged slowdown in South Side real estate sales may be premature.

Tom Crowley, outgoing president of the Spokane Association of Realtors, said buyers have been turning out in big numbers this month.

“Right now, we are swamped,” said Crowley, of Crowley Realty/ Better Homes & Gardens. “This should be a fabulous January.”

The association’s year-end sales figures show a decline in homes sold on the South Side in 1996 and a small increase in price.

For 1996 the association reported sales of 1,167 homes on the South Side, compared with 1,208 during 1995.

Average sale price last year was $130,046, compared with $127,927 in 1995.

Average time on the market was 81 days in 1996 and 79 days in 1995.

That was a change from the real estate boom that began in 1989.

Don Guderjohn, sales associate for Windermere Real Estate at Manito, said there apparently is an overabundance of homes on the market, allowing buyers to be choosy in their purchases.

“We have a lot of great inventory on the market,” he said. “We don’t have quite as many buyers as three years ago.”

Sellers would be wise to price their homes fairly or they won’t attract lookers, Guderjohn said.

Mortgage rates still are relatively low, agents said, and prices are expected to remain steady.

Crowley said many buyers stayed out of the market during the past eight weeks because of the ice storm in November and record snowfall in December.

During December, the association reported 120 South Side homes were sold at an average price of $126,234. In December 1995, the same number of homes were sold at an average price of $127,823.

, DataTimes