Home Sales Dip in York Country; Pennsylvania Mortgage Demand Strong Compared to Nation
After a record-breaking 2005, homes sales in York and Adams counties slowed in 2006, reported The York Daily Record.
But while there’s a lot of talk about the housing bubble bursting nationwide, the scenario is unlikely to play out locally, said Steve Snell, executive director of the Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties. He notes that Pennsylvania mortgage demand is strong compared to the rest of the country.
“Historically, we’ve never had the steep increases and decreases that other areas have had,” he said. “Our prices have zipped along at more moderate levels.”
Nationally, sales of existing homes are projected to fall by 8.6 percent after rising 4.2 percent in 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors. Median home prices are expected to increase by only 1.4 percent in 2006, which is far smaller than the 12.7 gain the previous year.
It’s not expected to be as bad in Pennsylvania, in part because the state didn’t have the lofty gains seen in places such as Nevada, California and Florida. From 1995 to 2006, home prices in Pennsylvania rose by 41 percent after adjusting for inflation, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Nationally, prices rose by 58 percent.
Snell said housing sales in York and Adams counties have decreased 5.7 percent this year. There were 6,857 homes sold in York and Adams counties in 2005 - more than had ever been recorded in the two counties in one year.
As of the end of November, however, 6,465 homes had been sold in York and Adams in 2006. Moreover, Snell said relatively few homes are sold in December, so the number shouldn’t change much, as individuals hold off on applications for mortgage loans until the spring.
But even though a decline is likely, the number of sales in 2006 represents an increase from 2004 levels, Snell said. And the median buying price of a home in York and Adams rose from $163,000 in 2005 to $174,997 in 2006.
Statewide, the median single-family home price in the third quarter came to $196,100, about the same as a year ago, according to the state real estate group, which doesn’t tally condominium prices. In 2005, home prices rose by 2.7 percent over 2004.