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GREENSBORO — Greensboro’s housing market showed a bright sign in the third quarter: People who sold their homes were more likely to get closer to their asking price.

Unfortunately, it took longer to sell those homes, according to a new report from the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association.

Overall, the number of homes sold during the third quarter was down 2 percent to 669 homes from the third quarter a year ago. Homes sold were on the market for an average of 117 days, up 5 percent from the second quarter.

But sellers were likely to get 93 percent of their asking price for a home.

“Over the past year, time on the market has risen 20.9 percent,” wrote G. Donald Jud, the economist who wrote the report. “The time to sell a home has risen, but sellers are getting a higher percentage of their listing price.”

Homes worth:

* Under $75,000 sold in 81 days;

* $75,000 to $149,000 sold in 133 days;

* $150,000 to $299,000 sold in 117 days;

* $300,000 to $499,000 sold in 144 days; and

* More than $500,000 sold in 128 days.

Compared with the spring quarter, sales grew by 18.6 percent into the warm summer buying season, according to the report.

The report features an “affordability index,” showing how easy it is to buy a home, but that picture got a little tighter in the past quarter because of rising home prices.

“Housing affordability is an important factor shaping housing demand. The affordability index declined 4.5 percent this quarter,” Jud wrote. “Since the 3rd quarter of 2008, the affordability index has risen 22.2 percent because of lower prices and mortgage rates.”

The number of homes on the market at the end of the third quarter was 3,138, which Jud notes would take 11.7 months to sell.

Home sales were highest in northwest Greensboro in the 27410 ZIP code. During the third quarter, 160 homes sold in that area. The majority of those homes, 84, sold for an average price of $209,000.

The second-most-popular neighborhood was in southern Greensboro in the 27406 ZIP code, which includes Forest Oaks. Ninety three homes sold in that area with an average price of $111,000 for the majority of sales.
 

Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or richard.barron@news-record.com