Published: February 11, 2008 08:43 am            

Local housing market slows but still strong

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series about Madison County’s housing market. Tuesday’s story will be about new home construction.



Home sales in Madison County for 2007 were down 5.9 percent from 2006, according to statistics released by the local board of Realtors.

Single-family home sales last year totaled 860. In 2006, the total was 914.

Currently, some 869 homes are listed for sale in Madison County, said Wayne Beazley, executive officer of the local Realtors’ association.

Outside of Richmond and Berea, 479 homes are for sale in Madison County. In Richmond, 250 homes are on the market, while 140 are for sale in Berea.

Madison County Realtors have 110 sales pending, Beazley said. “That’s pretty good, especially for this time of year.”

In 2007, home listings stayed on the market an average of 155 days, 12 days longer than in 2006.

While not happy about the local sales decline, Bobby Johns, president of the Madison County Board of Realtors in 2007, is optimistic about the future.

“Central Kentucky and Madison County are in much better shape than most of the country, especially states such as Ohio, Michigan, Arizona and California,” he said.

Nationwide, sales of existing homes fell 13 percent in 2007.

“I agree with what the Robert Damron, president of the Kentucky Association of Realtors, says on the kar.com Web site, ‘All real estate is local.’ Home buyers and sellers should stay attuned to the local market instead of getting discouraged by the news of turmoil in the housing and mortgage that is getting big play in the national media,” Johns said.

“With all of the jobs to be created at the Blue Grass Army Depot and new retail complexes under construction in Madison County, I think the local housing market is getting ready to explode.”

The number of sales pending is encouraging for a February, Johns said, but the Madison County real estate market is not nearly as seasonal as it once was.

“Some Realtors will let their licenses go into escrow during the winter months, but we had eight new agents join the Madison County Board of Realtors since the first of the year,” Beazley said. The local board has 289 members, including about 29 from surrounding counties.

In years past, March and April have been the two biggest months for new real estate listings.

While local real estate sales dipped last year, most home prices climbed.

“The average price of homes sold here last year was $163,811,” Beazley said. “That was up $1,650 from 2006.”

Nationwide, the average home price fell 1.8 percent.

In 2007, Madison County’s median home price — the mid-point between the lowest and highest priced homes sold — was $147,400, up $3,400 from 2006.

The median price is driven up by some high-priced properties. One home with 10 acres in Berea currently lists for $1.25 million.

Mortgage interest rates are still at or near historic lows, Johns said.

“We have qualified buyers getting 30-year mortgages at around 5.78 percent, with 15-year mortgages going for 5.25 percent.”

The years 2002-05 were perhaps the best for the Madison County real estate market, Johns said. “For me, 2007 was my second best year,” said Johns, who has been in the business for six years.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 267.

        

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