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Home sale prices continue to climb In 2001, the county had a 5 percent increase from 2000 in the number of homes sold: a total of 2,357 By GREG STILES Mail Tribune Ashland remained Jackson County's high-end housing enclave in 2001, but Jacksonville is closing in. At year's end, the average Ashland home sold for $273,063, up 16 percent over 2000. In Jacksonville, the average sale price was $248,880, up 12 percent over the year before. Jacksonville is roughly one-10th the size of Ashland, but it mimics its neighbor to the southeast in several ways - most notably scarcity of buildable property. The county Multiple Listing Service showed 37 Jacksonville properties for sale Monday, from a $179,000 home to a $899,000 bed-and-breakfast inn. "It's tough to start out living in Jacksonville, but it's a great place to move to," says Sally Bell a real estate agent with Windermere Investor's Marketplace. About seven Ashland homes turn over for every sale in Jacksonville, so the sale of one costly property in the former county seat can easily alter the average price. "You don't need too many highs in there to really throw off (Jacksonville's) numbers," Bell says. The highs will likely continue to skew the charts, for example, as work on the Nunan Square subdivision grinds along. And during the recent wave of refinancing, several Coachman Hill homes were appraised in the million-dollar range. "We're not going to have any large subdivisions developed here for a while," Bell says. "If you want to live here, you have to live with what's available." Availability has been on the decline in Ashland. MLS listings show that 107 Ashland properties were placed on the market Sept. 11-Dec. 31, 2000, while just 25 were added Sept. 11-Dec. 31, 2001. A total of 118 units were sold during that period in 2000 and 102 in 2001. "People are hunkering down," says Rad Wells, Realtor/owner at Lithia Realty in Ashland. Overall, the county saw a 5 percent increase in the number of homes from 2000 to 2001, as 2,357 residential units exchanged hands in 2001. The turnover was running 10 percent ahead of 2000 the first seven months of the year but faded in the final quarter. The average home sold for $171,864 in 2001, a jump of $9,283, or 6 percent over 2000, according to figures compiled by Roy Wright of Roy Wright Appraisal Service. The new home average price was $179,100, and average size was 1,652 square feet. Sale of east Medford homes slumped 6.4 percent to 677 units, but the price rose 4 percent to $173,576. West Medford saw a 26 percent climb in activity as 437 units were sold for an average price of $119,719, up from $110,950 a year earlier. Central Point saw a 29.6 percent increase in housing sales to 350 units. The average price was $150,265, up from $138,646 in 2000. In the Phoenix-Talent area, 138 units turned over for 6.2 increase. The average cost was $139,594, up from $135,346 in 2000. In Eagle Point, where 64 percent of the sales were from new homes, the average sales price jumped 13 percent to $161,300. The median price in Eagle Point was $130,500. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.