Document text
http://www.omniture.com --> Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend June 9, 2006 Home market slowing By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune "For Sale" signs are getting thick in west Medford. A dip-stick check into the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service MLS single-family residence inventory earlier this week showed 315 houses on the market. That's up 453 percent from the 57 that were available through the system a year ago. Overall, there are nearly 1,750 houses available via SOMLS, not to mention sellers outside the system. "There were people who saw the market was up a year ago who weren't prepared to sell, and now they are prepared and willing to put their house on market," says Rick Chezik, an agent with Exit Realty in Medford. "They just didn't choose the optimum time." Jackson County sales activity has declined for more than a year, slowly reining in runaway housing prices. May's countywide median selling price of $266,500 dropped just less than 1 percent from last year while the number of sales dropped 33 percent to 205 from 305. Overall, sales activity is off 37 percent for 2006. With the primary selling season in full swing, Chezik thinks fuel prices are becoming a factor as well. "I think the gas crisis — even though it's not generally called that — is affecting the market," says Chezik, who has been working the area for seven years. "People are having to calculate the cost of coming up here from California." Even so, he says he's booked with appointments through June. "School is out, taxes are done and getting over the Siskiyou Summit is doable this time of year," he says. "I talk to clients every day and they do have reluctance spending the money it takes just to drive here. You have your people that are going to travel in their Suburban, no matter what. But I've been sending information for a year or year and a half to people who are holding off coming up until the property they've been waiting for comes along." Unlike the past few summers, patience appears to be a virtue for buyers. West Medford mirrors much of what is going on throughout the county. West Medford eked out a 1 percent gain of $1,500 for a median price of $207,000. The median price represents the mid-point in sale prices, with an equal number of houses selling for more and less than that price. East Medford's median sales price dropped 2 percent to $280,000 on 73 sales — the most transactions since September. "When the sales volume consistently drops for 14 months, eventually prices have to react to that," said appraiser Roy Wright, who tracks local real estate activity. "When the sales volume is down, I don't get too excited about that, it's just a cycle. "But I'd be concerned if there were three months of decreased prices, that would be an identifiable trend — especially when considering we're going into the best sales months of the year. If that were the case, I'd say things are going south." There's no imminent threat of that happening in Ashland, which usually tops the county's housing prices. While the market time has stretched out to an average of three months, compared to two months a year ago, Ashland's median sales price for 32 homes climbed 17 percent to $472,500. Even so, Chezik believes Ashland and Jacksonville are candidates for a change of pace. "I think both areas are terribly inflated," Chezik says. "It doesn't take a CPA to see what you're paying in Ashland and Jacksonville and that you could buy an equal property for less than 13 miles away. You are paying more per square foot and what are you gaining? Probably a higher tax base and an older structure." The Phoenix-Talent area saw a 12 percent uptick in median price to $274,900 even though the number of transactions dwindled 45 percent to 55. In Central Point, there were just 18 sales, a 61 percent drop from May 2005. The median price on those deals, however, was $276,000, up 6 percent. Eagle Point, perhaps the most erratic of the county's urban real estate areas, saw a 13 percent decline in its median price to $250,000 on 11 sales. New home sales, representing 23 percent of the total deals in the county, are nearly 40 percent off from last year with the median $338,950 price more than 14 percent higher than a year ago. Those new homes spent an average of 109 days on the market, compared to 89 last May. Rural home sales fell 34 percent, while the median price rose 14 percent to $357,625. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or at [email protected] Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy