Home sales in the Peoria area dropped 15% for the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

Peoria Area Association of Realtors President Becky Peterson says the credit crisis is causing the drop in total housing sales.

She said, "The banks have gone through a complete restructuring of loans. There are no more 100% loans, which you saw a lot of first time home buyers using. Those are no longer available."

On the bright side, PAAR figures show statewide home sales are even worse, down 30% for the first quarter.

Nationally home sales fell 19% and the average selling price was down 7.7% from a year ago.

But local figures show that the average price for existing homes, new construction and condos is up 4%.

Hereis the entire release from the PAAR:

Home sales for the first quarter of 2008 saw steady monthly increases, but the comparative numbers to 2007 could not shake the lack of consumer confidence associated with what is happening in today’s economy. According to the Peoria Area Association of Realtors, there were 1,002 home sales in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 1,178 total homes sales in first quarter of 2007, a decrease of 15 percent for the year-to-year comparison. On the up side, there was a steady increase in monthly home sales for the first three months of the year.

“We are moving in the right direction,” said Peoria Area Association of Realtors President Becky Peterson. “It’s my understanding in the last couple of months that new construction is strong and some area banks are busier than usual with purchase loans. That is definitely a good sign for our market.”

According to Associated Bank V.P./Central Illinois Residential Manager Angie Menefee the past two months have been extremely busy with people applying for a purchase loan. “With the weather breaking, we are seeing a lot more activity,” said Menefee. “Companywide, our bank is exceeding our mortgage loan goals for the year. Another good sign is that I personally do four to five construction loans a year and to date, I have already done three.”

Home Builders Association of Greater Peoria President Denny Reichard agrees that the Peoria market is seeing a lot of activity. “Don’t be fooled by what you hear on the national news,” said Reichard. “We have seen a steady increase in building permits since the beginning of the year and we are experiencing a tremendous amount of traffic with our newly constructed homes. It’s a positive picture in Peoria.”

In the state, home sales were down across the board for the first three months of the year by 29.5 percent in March, 22.9 percent in February and 31.1 in January compared to same period in 2007. Locally, home sales were off 20 percent in January, 11 percent in February and 15 percent in March. The Illinois median price in March was $194,500, off 1.3 percent from $197,000 in March 2007. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less. Peoria area median price for a home was $114,450 compared to $100,000 in March 2007.

The National Association of Realtors also reported home sales were down 19.3 in March; 23.8 in February and 23.4 in January compared to the same period a year ago. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $200,700 in March, down 7.7 percent from a year ago when the median was $217,400.

Average Sale Price. The average sale price for homes in the Peoria area was $135,495 compared to last year’s average sale price of $130,343. The numbers reflect an increase of nearly 4% over the previous year.

Inventory. Inventory numbers for the first quarter of the year were in pace with last year’s numbers and did not show a presumed glut of homes for sale in the Peoria market. Home inventories for the first three months were 2,519 for January 2008 compared to 2,402 in 2007; 2,378 for February 2008 compared to 2,377 in 2007 and 2,447 for March 2008 compared to 2,440 in 2007.

Peoria Area Association of REALTORS®
1ST QUARTER HOME SALES & AVE. SALE PRICE

YEAR HOME SALES AVE. SALE PRICE

2008 1,002 $135,495
2007 1,178 $130,343
2006 1,186 $128,092
2005 1,101 $118,303
2004 1,059 $106,924
2003 1,003 $102,727
2002 923 $100,092
2001 836 $102,687
2000 937 $100,196
1999 799 $100,343
1998 769 $ 95,476
1997 651 $ 92,200
1996 678 $ 84,108
1995 587 $ 77,563

INVENTORY NUMBERS
1st QUARTER BY MONTH

...........................................2007 2008
JANUARY 2,402 2,519
FEBRUARY 2,377 2,378
MARCH 2,440 2,447