April home sales down from 2010

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, May 14, 2011

Realtors: Market is still trending up

April housing numbers may be down from last year, but the housing market is looking up.

“I think the market is getting better, there’s a lot more lookers out there,” said Charlie Fawver, the broker of Fawver Agency.

The number of homes sold in April dropped to 28, down from 42 in 2010. The number of active listings also dropped from 434 to 362.

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However, 102 homes sold from January to April, up from 91 in 2010.

Re/Max owner Duane Sauke said one month doesn’t paint a comprehensive picture of the market.

“I would say that we should wait to see if that’s a consistent thread or not before we start raising flags. It’s important to not draw too much of a conclusion from just one month’s change. We need to see it happen more than just one month,” said Sauke, who is also the board president of the regional Multiple Listing Service.

Sauke said it takes two to three months of data to reflect the market.

Real estate agents take numbers from spring of 2010 with a grain of salt because of the home buyers’ credit. The credit caused an increase many agents describe as “artificial.”

“That (credit) created a short-term spurt in the market last year,” Fawver said.

While this year’s upturn has been more sustained, Fawver noted the cold, rainy weather of April may have drawn down sales.

“The weather was much better last year,” he said.

Still, agents were optimistic about Austin’s housing climate.

“Austin has been enjoying a bit more housing activity than some of its neighboring towns,” Sauke said. “It has been enjoying that for several months. It has been both active and, in some ways, growing in terms of more numbers each month.”

Colleen Jennings said her agency in LeRoy has picked up since winter.

“It’s been a good spring,” she said.

In a market still favorable to buyers, Jennings said many people are being selective.

“That’s what people are looking for is homes that are priced right or are better deals,” she said.

“The buyers are kind of picky these days.”

“People are always looking for the best deal,” she added.

She noted that’s difficult for sellers who have money down on their homes.

Despite an optimistic market, Jennings said it is unlikely the housing market will return to the boom of three or four years ago.