In Hampden County, the region’s largest housing market, the number of homes sold rose 2.3 percent from 262 in July 2011 to 268 in July 2012.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 10:43 this morning.
SPRINGFIELD – Sales of single-family homes rose 9 percent in July across the Pioneer Valley in what many see as a sign that the residential real estate market is recovering, or at least the market has arrested its decline.
There were 391 homes sold in July 2011 and 426 homes sold in July 2012, according to data released Tuesday by The Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley. The median price paid for those homes fell slightly by 0.8 percent from $192,000 to $190,000.
“I think what we have seen is people sitting on the sidelines waiting for the market to recover,” said Robert J. Michel, senior vice president and division executive for retail and consumer lending at Hampden Bank. “But now those people have started coming off the sidelines. We are seeing increased purchase requests here at Hampden Bank. We are sensing there are more purchases being made now than in the past.”
Michel said sellers are pricing property lower, in tune with a changed economy. Also, low mortgage interest rates are making it more affordable to buy.
A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.49 percent for the week ending July 26, according to FreddieMac.com.
“It is probably better for a lot of first-time home buyers to buy right now than it is to rent,” said Charles E. Reiter, a team leader with Keller Williams Realty Pioneer Valley.
Karen C. King, a Realtor with the Karen King Group of Re/Max Prestige in Wilbraham, said she thinks the region has seen the worst of the foreclosure crisis. “I even received multiple offers last week on a property,” King said. “It’s probably been five years, truthfully, since that happened. I think buyers are understanding that the market has bottomed out.”
She’s also had bank appraisals come back higher than the asking price for the home, King said. That’s a sure sign that the market is rebounding because those appraisers tend to be conservative, she said.
In Hampden County, the region’s largest housing market, the number of homes sold rose 2.3 percent from 262 in July 2011 to 268 in July 2012. The median price rose 3.6 percent from $169,000 to $175,000.
In Hampshire County, sales rose 20.7 percent from 92 to 111 and the median price fell 2.1 percent from $264,500 to $259,000.
In Franklin County, sales rose 27 percent from 37 in July 2011 to 47 in July 20 2012. The median price paid in Franklin County fell 1.6 percent from $188,000 to $185,000.
On a month-to-month basis, sales regionwide fell 14.3 percent from 497 in June 2012. But the median price rose 3 percent from $1285,000 in July 2012.
Taking a longer view, the median price of a single-family home has fallen 12.4 percent over eight years to $190,500.