Sales of Vancouver WA Homes Takes a Dive in May 2010
Article by John Slocum
Vancouver Washington real estate for sale, including nearby Clark County cities in May 2010 saw continued pressure from Pre-Foreclosures and Short Sales), and from bank owned homes (REO’s) seeing the most attention of home buyers, and putting downward pressure on prices for the remaining available Vancouver WA homes for sale.
Extracting data from the Vancouver MLS the Distressed Property Category (Short Sales and Bank Owned/REOs) made up 35.7% of the Active Inventory of homes for sale; but were 47% of the Pending sales for the month of May. This puts Vancouver WA Real Estate squarely in a Buyers Market with almost half of the buyers going for a great deal.
Factors have helped to stabilize prices (and even help with a modest seasonal price increase) and promote a healthier housing market. The Federal Tax Credit incentive showed a modest level of increased buying in March and April as qualified first and second time home buyers gave it a go.
Another positive factor has been the home loan interest rate for qualified buyers going solidly below five (5) percent. Every incremental lowering of the loan rate greatly improves the affordability of a home purchase.
A third positive factor helping home prices has been the increasing number of sales of homes in the pricing tiers above 0,000. The positive movement in this segment may not increase actual home values but, mathematically it does help the average home sales price firm up or slightly increase.
The local Vancouver WA MLS board has recently changed the way they count Days on the Market and thus the year to year statistics don’t match up well. However, it is our observation that home sellers who price their homes at market should expect from 3 weeks to 8 weeks to see traffic and perhaps an offer. If the home is priced above the market the wait could be indefinite.
We are also seeing a very visible pulse in New Home construction in all parts of lower Clark County. In Camas the home builders have several millions of dollars in new homes nearing completion. Two key elements we’ve seen fueling the new construction activity are: 1) construction on lots that had been foreclosed and then sold at steep discounts; 2) buyers that could finance the construction loan with 20% or more in down-payment.
For more information on Vancouver Washington or nearby cities ofCamas WA orBattle Ground WA please visit our website.
About the Author
The author lives in his hometown of Vancouver Washington, USA and is an independent contractor and real estate agent with REMAX Vancouver WA.
