Corridor home sales back on track for July

Sales of new homes continued to get back on track last month in the Corridor, bucking a nationwide downtrend.

Home sales reported by the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors climbed to 338 in July from 195 in July 2010, a 73.3 percent increase July 2010. Home sales reported by the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors climbed to 408, a 65.8 percent increase from July 2010.

Sales of existing homes nationally fell in July for the for the third time in four months, and for the year so far, were trailing last year's weak sales of 4.91 million. Annual home sales reach about 6 million in a healthy market.

The comparisons appeared to be more of a dramatic improvement than they actually were because of the expected slump in home sales in the summer of 2010 following the expiration of federal tax incentives for first-time and move-uphome buyers.

"We just had a flood of first-time homebuyers last year, and rightly so," said Terri Larson, president of the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors. "The most telling number is the pending sales for July, which was not influenced by last year's first-time home buyer program."

Larson said the number of sale pendings rose 29 percent in July from eyar-earlier levels, from 31 to 40.

The average selling price was also up significantly in both the Cedar Rapids area and Iowa City area multiple listing services. The average selling price in the Cedar Rapids MLS for July was $165,703, up from $160,483 in July 2010. The average selling price in the Iowa City MLS for July was $189,765, up from $178,110 in July 210.

For the year to date, Cedar Rapids home sales were up from 2,159 to 2,455. Iowa City Area home sales were down slightly, from 1,568 to 1,411.

Home sales for the first seven months of 2011 were close to average for the preceding 10 years, according to Kevin Platz, association executive for the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors. He said home sales hit a record in the third quarter of 2010 due to the first-time homebuyer credits in the Cedar Rapids MLS.

The Iowa Association of Realtors reported that home sales statewide icreased 38.7 percent, or 870 sales, from July 2010 to hit 3,118 homes sold in July 2010. The average sales price climbed 5.9 percent to $152,349 versus $143,837 in July 2010.

Part of the reason for the jump in average selling price from July 2010 to July 2011 was the large number of first-time home buyers active in 2010 to take advantage of the federal tax credit, Larson said. The market this year includes more "move-up" buyers purchasing more expensive homes, and fewer first-time buyers.