SPRINGFIELD (January 24, 2008) The unit home sales rate and the median home sale price increased in the Capital Area during December 2007, according to the Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR) Multiple Information Service.

For the month of December 2007, total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) were up 8.2 percent with 224 homes sold, compared to 207 homes sold in December of 2007. For year-to-date through December of 2007 home sales totaled 4,002, down 4.1 percent from the 4,175 homes sold during the same period of time during 2006.

Available inventory at the end of December 2007 was 1,643 reflecting a 4.1 percent decrease from the 1,713 inventory a year earlier. “Inventory has been the achiles heel of our market for the past few years,” said REALTOR® Phil Chiles president of the Capital Area Association of REALTORS®. “Whether this dip in inventory is temporary or will signal a trend remains to be seen. Regardless, inventory levels are still about 23.0 percent over where they were four years ago,” said Chiles.

The Capital Area median home sale price in December was $111,500, reflecting an increase of 18.6 percent from the $94,000 December 2006 price. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

The median price for year-to-date through December of 2007 was $104,500, a 5.6 percent increase over the $99,000 median price from the same period in 2006.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 6.10 percent in December 2007, nearly unchanged from the 6.14 average rate during December of 2006.

Chiles, who has been frustrated by the persistent negative coverage by the national media toward the housing market, believes that the local consumer is starting to understand that the local real estate market is doing just fine. “To aid in this, CAAR recently launched a ’Buy Now’ campaign geared toward educating the public about the many positive aspects of our local real estate market,” said Chiles.

The Capital Area Association of REALTORS® is the Voice for Real Estate in the Capital Area representing more than 700 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. The Capital Area’s Resource for Real Estate Information can be found at www.SeeHouses.com.

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