Grant County 2008 home sales, median prices lower

BY BRETT WALLACE, Chronicle-Tribune
bwallace@chronicle-tribune.com

2008 was not a great year for the residential real estate market in Grant County.

For sellers, the number of homes sold dropped by more than 18 percent, while the average price of those that were sold was down almost 5 percent.

In the meantime, many buyers likely couldn't take advantage of lower property taxes and falling interest rates because of the increasing difficult to obtain financing as the year progressed.

"Some people were certainly nervous with the economy and the job market," said Kathy Harbaugh, the executive vice president of the Realtors Association of Central Indiana.

The number of homes sold in Grant County was 587 in 2008, down from 719 the previous year. The average sale price dropped from $76,532 to $72,939, while the median price fell from $65,000 to $63,900.

The number of days a home was on the market was almost the same, rising slightly from 141 to 144.

Harbaugh was struck by how many fewer homes were on the market during the course of the year. Inventory fell from 509 on the first business day of 2008 to 409 on the first business day of 2009, a 20 percent decrease.

"I think what we're seeing right now is that wait-and-see attitude," she said.

Much of the U.S. housing market was hurt by the rising number of real estate owned - or foreclosed - properties last year, but Grant County actually saw its number drop more than 15 percent, from 267 to 226. That compared to just a 5 percent drop across the RACI's coverage area.

"We saw a pretty good drop in those (repossessed) houses out there," she said.

Harbaugh said the year past is also marked by a tightening in lending standards for those looking to buy a house.

"We almost went from one extreme to the other," she said.

Judy Fitzgerald, the principle broker for Maidenberg Real Estate, thought it's been a tough year for real estate in Grant County, just like the rest of the country.

But she said a buyers' market can be a good thing as well, with excellent opportunities available to those who want them.

"I really think Grant County, overall, fared very well," she said.

Realtor Linda Kitts said things are slow but some signs are positive.

"The market was down tremendously and slow," said Kitts, an agent for Century 21 Kilgore Realtors. "It's certainly a buyers' market."

Kitts thought a positive sign is that homes in the county continue to sell in all price ranges.

"It tells me that as long as you have good credit and a good job, you're still able to get a loan," she said.

Harbaugh said she's advised agents to do a good job with the inventory they have and to keep their sellers informed to get through this period.

"I'm not an economist, so it's hard to predict when, but it will change," she said. "It will get better."

RACI serves Realtors in a six-county area including Cass, Grant, Howard, Miami, Tipton and Wabash counties.