No Love in the Numbers - Central PA Market Remains Weak

The real estate market in Franklin County, PA disappointed in March, as the modest gains posted in February were not extended the following month. Neighboring Washington County, MD fared no better, with sold dollar volume down 15.5% and similar declines in average and median sold prices.

At 107, the number of Franklin County homes sold in March was two more than the 105 sold in March 2010. That was about it for the good news. Dollar volume of homes sold and the average sold price both were down by double-digits; the average sold price was down 12.7% and the median sold price was down 6.7%. Average days on market increased 40% to just over six months.

There must be something positive in the numbers, right? Well, inventories continued to fall year-over-year in Franklin and Washington Counties. Active listings in Franklin were down 8.2% from March 2010, chiefly because new listings were off by 20.5%; however, total pendings also declined by 15.6%, which does not bode well for April's results. Washington County was a bit happier place, with active listings down 10.1% (new listings down a massive 28.2%) and pendings up 7.4%.

Financing in March looked like this for Franklin County. FHA loans were used in 17% of transactions for which financing was reported; VA loans accounted for 9%. Twenty-seven percent of homes sold for cash. The remainder were financed mostly with conventional or USDA Rural Housing loans. In Washington County, 31% of transactions were financed via FHA, 8% were VA, and a full third of homes were bought with cash. Only 28% of homes were financed with conventional or "other" means in Washington County during March.

What does any of this tell us about the future? The market in Franklin remains soft, and April is likely to see little change. A year ago, federal tax credits still were in place and plumped up the sales figures somewhat. Sales fell off after the tax credits expired at the end of April 2010, so we might expect sales in May and subsequent months this year to be ahead of 2010's results just for this reason.

We hear in media reports that more and more buyers are venturing into the real estate market, drawn by good selection, good prices, extra-good rates and an improving economy. More shoppers may indeed be out there, but their presence isn't showing in the numbers just yet.

Source - RealEstate Business Intelligence, LLC, an MRIS company. Information deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.