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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Featured Galleries: May 9, 2007 Home sales rise, prices fall in Jackson County The Associated Press MEDFORD — Southern Oregon’s most populous county saw a rare increase in home sales last month as sellers reduced their asking prices. Figures compiled by appraiser Roy Wright show that 184 single-family homes were sold in Jackson County last month — 11 more than in April 2006. It’s the first time since August 2005 that more homes were sold in a month compared to the same month in the previous year. The jump in sales was accompanied by a 7.1 percent drop in the median sales price — to $257,200, according to figures supplied by the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service. “I’ve been in this business for 20 years and for 19 years real estate only went up or flattened, then it went down,” Stephanie Horton, principal broker at Windermere Investors Marketplace in Jacksonville, told the Mail-Tribune newspaper. “It remains a buyers’ market, but buyers are trickling out. For little more than a year, there weren’t any buyers, and I had a lot of people tell me ’I’m waiting to see how low it goes.’ “ There are roughly 2,350 homes on the market, up 41 percent from a year ago. That reflects a larger housing stock and the return of sellers who took their homes off the market during the winter. That means more houses can turn over without prices necessarily rising. “As the weather gets better more buyers are coming out of hibernation,” said Ron Galbreath of John L. Scott Real Estate in Medford. “People may think now is a good time to buy because interest rates are low, they have good credit and, for the first time in years, sellers are willing to negotiate,” he said. “I don’t think it’s unusual for buyers to take 10 to 15 percent off the asking price and still get counteroffers. If they don’t get the counter, they’ll just shoot off another offer down the road.” Current Comments: It's not a buyer's market when house prices are still at hugely inflated levels. Don't catch a falling knife. Be patient, and prices will come down. Every factor that brought prices up: (easy credit, house flipping, a sense of urgency, prices going up) has reversed. It's always the case that the housing market takes longer to bottom out than it did to reach it's peak, but it's clear which way it's heading. Here's a good source for Jackson County real estate statistics: http://www.jacstats.com/ Ashland Renter - Ashland, OR - May 9th, 12:12 PM Yeah, we've got some time. Look for the bottom around 2011. The subprime debacle is just starting to wipe out the first-time buyers, and this will slowly ripple through the upgrade market. Also, the ARM resets are just starting, and it will take another year or so for the subsequent wave of foreclosures to affect comps. The last bubble (30% y-o-y loss in many CA areas), took 7 years from peak to trough. The House Whisperer - Ashland, OR - May 9th, 7:33 PM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us