news-record.com

The number of homes sold in the Greensboro market was down 16.6 percent in 2008 compared with 2007.

That's a faster dropoff than the national rate, which was down 11.8 percent for 2008 compared with 2007.

The picture was brighter for home prices, however, with Greensboro prices holding up well relative to the nation.

Home sales were down in all categories, but up by 29.4 percent for homes costing less than $75,000, according to a report released Wednesday by the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association.

The average price of homes sold dropped by 4.1 percent in 2008 to an adjusted $186,823.

G. Donald Jud, the economist who prepared the report, said that while 2008's numbers show a significant dropoff, the Greensboro and Guilford County market haven't been hit as hard as the rest of the nation because this region did not experience the national housing boom during the earlier part of the decade.

Heavy layoffs in textiles and other manufacturing industries kept the economy from growing here quickly, Jud said.

When the bubble burst nationwide, prices fell sharply. In the past year, housing prices have fallen 26.2 percent nationally compared with this city's 4.1 percent decline.